How to make a home office a success

The prevalence of home office has increased massively as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic. It can be assumed that home office will continue to be more widespread after the pandemic. This is because employees want it and it is part of employer attractiveness, but also in order to be able to reduce the number of workplaces in the offices and thus the costs.

1.1. rights and duties in the home office
In the home office, work is carried out in the private environment, thus extending the employer's duty of care and the employee's duty to follow instructions to the private environment. Employers, especially managers, are responsible for the health protection of employees in the home office and must provide appropriate measures: suitable instructions, assistance, necessary material resources must be made available. In the current situation, temporary improvisation is possible. Employees must also comply with the employer's instructions with regard to their work in the home office, as well as provide insight into the conditions of their home office workplace and shape these and their behavior in accordance with the specifications.

1.2 Home office setup
Select work location: The optimal workplace is located in a dedicated room that allows undisturbed and concentrated work. A workstation without a view of the outdoors or in the bedroom are unsuitable for productive work. If space is tight in a multi-person household, a dedicated room can be defined at specific times.

As basic equipment, a sufficiently large table and ideally a height-adjustable office chair are suitable. If you work on a notebook for a longer period of time, it helps to use an external mouse, keyboard and monitor to prevent posture-related complaints. A stable, fast and secure Internet connection is also necessary. If you work with your own PC, make sure that your firewall and virus protection are up to date. When handling sensitive data at home, the company's instructions must also be observed. Good lighting and simple measures against disturbing glare caused by incident daylight also make a noticeable contribution to complaint-free working.

The best possible work ergonomic facilities are a must: especially and particularly in times of home office. (Image ©depositphotos, ridofranz)

1.3 Organization in the home office
Design personal work rhythm: Especially home office newcomers should define clear working hours, breaks and times for leisure activities and housework or childcare at the beginning. After all, it's not easy to get into a productive work routine at home. And it takes energy to block out private obligations. Getting out of pajamas in the morning and into comfortable work clothes, and changing clothes after work help create the missing boundary between work and leisure.

Organize work: Agreements must be made with colleagues and the supervisor, but also with the family / roommates. With children of preschool age at home, this is difficult to impossible; here, agreements with the partner on reciprocal time windows and agreements with the supervisor on temporary work on marginal hours help.
Working in a home office requires a lot of discipline. The consistent implementation of known work techniques is central: reducing distractions, structuring tasks according to importance and urgency, and creating schedules.

1.4 Leadership at a distance
Create clear rules and framework conditions: The most important questions regarding working hours, availability and the division of work should be clarified and determined together with the employees. Employees can also be trusted in the home office. Studies have shown that employees in a home office are more productive and tend to work longer hours when they can manage their own time. It is important to give the necessary room for maneuver and to show appreciation.

Maintain regular exchange: Where possible, the existing communication channels should be used (e.g. at team meetings, individual meetings and working group meetings). In addition, new communication tools and platforms must be defined for both formal and informal exchange (replacement coffee break). Care must be taken not to use too many different means.

Regular individual discussions should take place with each employee. The rhythm should be determined individually, as some employees can make good use of the new "free space," while others may need more support.
The duty of care can be fulfilled by regularly asking how employees are feeling, especially those who are working in a home office for a longer period of time for the first time.

You can read the detailed technical article in the print edition SAFETY-PLUS of March 10, 2021.