An international health crisis – such as the current COVID-19 pandemic – has result of many more people working from their homes, particularly when conditions/restrictions result in co-working or other similar work alternatives being unavailable.
For those of us living in at least relatively typical suburban houses, more working from home means spending a little (or A LOT) more time than usual in our home office, which likely features a door and walls that separate it from activity in the rest of the house.
But, many people working more from home as a result of the disease containment plan do not live in typical suburban homes. They are sharing crowded city apartments with other adults or living alone in studio apartments, for example.
Some people working from home during a health crisis also need to provide care for children not at school while also simultaneously doing whatever their paycheck writing employer requires of them; and those child care responsibilities complicate efforts to get professional work done while those kids are awake.
What are realistic steps that employers can take now to make it more likely that employees can work more effectively from home? The answer to this question is, in brief, providing employees with the information and basic tools they need to develop the most effective home offices that are realistically possible.
One of the biggest concerns when working from home is distractions, and the distractions that get the most attention are acoustic. Silence is stressful, and is never the best soundscaping solution (plus it is impossible to realistically create a silent space outside of a lab).
So what sounds should people hear? Certainly not conversations (in languages they speak) that are interesting for one reason or another. Music, even music that listeners themselves select, is not the best option from a cognitive performance perspective. Sure, listening to music, on headphones, for example, is better than hearing the TV in the next room, but not the best acoustic environment for professional work.
A better solution is white noise. And an even better one, because some people just don’t like white noise, is nature sounds played quietly, subtly, directly into peoples’ ears via earphones/buds or ambiently in a space. The best sorts of nature sounds for knowledge workers are those that might be heard in a meadow on a “perfect,” fair weather day. This means a soundscape featuring the sound of gently rustling leaves, a burbling brook, or happy-seeming birds quietly calling out to each other – no turbulent sounding wind, hurricane-like rain, or screeching parrots/howler monkeys, for example. Nature sound tracks are readily available.
People will also work better from home if they work in the same, dedicated space every day – and, if they do not have a view of this space when trying to fall asleep at night. This may or may not be possible depending on the number of people sharing a space and horizontal work surface options available, but it is highly desirable. One with fewer distractions, such as views into areas where others at home may be spending time, and with a nature view is best, but architecture determines options in this case.
When picking their at-home workspace, employees should consider what clients and coworkers they’re conference calling, etc., with will see when they’re working from this spot. If the backdrop of the work location is a kitchen, which may sometimes feature an extensive collection of dirty dishes, the at-home worker may feel stressed and embarrassed, which diverts their mental energy from the task at hand. And, even the most understanding of clients may form negative impressions. In some cases, creating some sort of ad hoc backdrop, with a draped sheet if necessary, may be the best option.
Establishing acoustic conditions that don’t create negative impressions during conference calls, etc., may be really difficult in some living situations, but headsets that link directly into telephones, etc., may help with this.
Ambient conditions can also generate stress, so in advance of their at-home work, employees can carefully consider the heating and lighting levels, furniture arrangements, etc., that are best for them while working from home and note them, so they can be “dialed in” when needed and not determined once the at-home work period begins. Consciously setting ambient conditions also gives workers a feeling of control over their work environment, which boosts wellbeing and performance.
Employees need to know about the straightforward steps, noted above, that they can take to work more effectively from home. Providing workers directly with some of the tools mentioned, such as the nature soundtracks, in advance of a “lockdown” can make last minute transitions to “required at-home work mode” smoother. The general concepts mentioned above are also relevant to at-work workplaces, so sharing this information is useful in multiple ways.
Clearly, at-home work is done more successfully when people have needed tools (such as laptops), electronic and otherwise, and communication technologies that work – in advance preparation to make sure that they are in place and complements the soundscaping and other factors of your work-from-home life.
Sally Augustin, PhD, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com). Research Design Connections reports on research conducted by social and physical scientists that designers can apply in practice. Insights derived from recent studies are integrated with classic, still relevant findings in concise, powerful articles. Topics covered range from the cognitive, emotional, and physiological implications of sensory and other physical experiences to the alignment of culture, personality, and design, among others. Information, in everyday language, is shared in a monthly subscription newsletter, an archive of thousands of published articles, and a free daily blog. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.