THE REALITIES OF WORKING FROM HOME AND HOW TO MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU…

In today's climate, working from home has transformed from being a possibility to being a necessity for many of us. Some interesting home office trends are emerging from how to work more efficiently, maintain team spirit remotely and create a work-life balance in the physical space where those realities now converge.

For many people the idea of working from home was quite alien. They enjoyed being in an office with their colleagues – people to bounce ideas off, to have a chat with and to share experiences with. Working from home was the last thing on their mind. But the pandemic changed everything for many of us. Working from home became a necessity – we had no choice. How would we cope? Would we be able to concentrate? Would we find being on our own lonely? Would we spend too much time heading for the fridge and putting on weight?! Would we be interrupted by our partner, the kids or even the pets! So many things to consider, so many things to discover about how we worked in a space on our own.

For many of us, taking over the kitchen or a spare bedroom was the immediate answer but as the time we were at home extended from weeks into months, many of us began to think about providing a dedicated space outside the home to work in – the home office in the garden became a reality, it’s even coined a new term ‘Shoffice’ a shed with an office.

Many of us have invested in this space and far from being a glorified shed, it has become a comfortable additional room – a garden study with all the necessary links to allow us to work comfortably and compactly – electricity, telephone and internet extensions and our own heating and air conditioning system to keep the environment in which we work as comfortable as possible.

This is where LG has had a huge influence on many of our lives. The LG electrically inverter driven, air source heat pump technology has allowed us to install an LG air conditioner in our offices – offering heat in the cooler months and cooling in the hotter summer periods that have become so much more prevalent in recent years – weeks at a time in the high twenties and thirties – making it almost impossible to work effectively without comfort cooling.

To maximise productivity, indoor temperatures should be between 22°C and 25°C – and the LG units make this a simple task. Having the environment just right for you makes all the difference when you’re trying to concentrate and working hard to achieve your goals as you work on your own. For many of us, after a brief acclimatisation period we actually find we can work better at home, with no interruptions and complete control over our working environment.

But there are other ways of improving our working environment especially now we are entering a hybrid working scenario. The LG ThinQ app allows you to turn your air conditioner on or off remotely, from the house 10 minutes before you get to work for comfortable, purified air, so if you only need to walk down the garden path to the perfect environment after a perfect breakfast the shoffice will be just right.

Top tips for your shoffice comfort.

Many of us are finding the huge benefits of having a second screen attached to our lap top or desk top computer - using a second screen is proven to increase productivity up to 50% for many people. LG Ear buds help you to communicate with your online community and to focus on what you’re doing and saying. Even if your neighbour decides to mow the grass during an important call or presentation…

Finally, make the environment even more perfect with the addition of live house plants. It’s well known that surrounding yourself with live plants will Increase productivity and well-being. So green up your environment – import some houseplants and feel the improvement in your surroundings simply by being part of your own indoor garden…