A piece of nature and no vacation photos: what you need for a perfect workplace

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How to design a workspace that will help you become more productive and unleash your professional potential.

A well-organized space is one of the main conditions for healthy productivity. You may be aware that an uncomfortable chair or insufficient light is interfering with your work, but ignore other factors - less obvious but equally important - that also affect your productivity.

There is a whole science that studies the organization of the human workspace in order to increase productivity - ergonomics. If you think it’s about arranging furniture in your office, you’re not entirely right. Ergonomics includes a healthy layout, thoughtfulness in detail and aesthetics. And it teaches you to avoid factors that lead to the fact that you do not realize your professional potential.

Let's outline what you need to pay attention to if you want to improve your workplace, and we will practice looking at life through the prism of fundamental ergonomic principles.

Maximum functionality

The workplace is like a living space: the smaller the space, the more ingenuity and imagination it takes to function successfully.

1. Analyze the "working area" of the table

Remember that the reach of a person's hand is 30–40 cm. The rest of the table surface that you cannot reach is actually not used. Therefore, think about the need for things that are in your immediate vicinity, and remove those that you hardly use.

Keep what you use often - a notebook, a calculator - close at hand. If you find yourself getting up a lot to reach for an object, move it closer to you.

2. Remove everything that is not related to work

We advise you not to put dozens of photo frames or travel souvenirs on the table - let the fond memories remain outside the work area, otherwise your eyes will cling to distractions and the working day will be less effective.

3. Divide the workspace into zones

If your work is concentrated between a computer and papers, it is wise to set up a separate computer desk and a writing desk - this method is called panoramic. It should be comfortable for you to move between the two zones.

Correct lighting

The healthiest lighting is daylight. But in Russian realities, you can work in daylight only for a few hours a day, and then provided that the depth of your office does not exceed 6 meters.

1. Choose the right color

Pay attention to the color of the light of the lamps. In cloudy weather, it is better to give preference to warm yellow light; on a sleepy morning, cold and bright light will help to cheer up.

By the way, it is worth abandoning fluorescent lamps and choosing halogen ones: their light is much less tiring for the eyes.

2. Check that it is not dull or too bright

There should be neither too little nor too much artificial lighting - if you look at a bright spotlight, you can quickly get a headache. Therefore, we advise you to choose the right lamps. The best way is to distribute the lighting by zones: overhead light, table and floor.

3. Do not forget about the table lamp

We advise you to choose one in which the regulator is installed according to the degree of light power and height. And let us also recall the golden rule of a first grader: the light from a table lamp should fall from above and to the left (for left-handers - from above and to the right). Otherwise, a shadow falls from your hand on the workspace, you change your body position and overextend your vision.

Competent handling of technology

Today it is already difficult to imagine a workplace without a stationary computer or laptop, and work processes without important gadgets. We contact screens every day, but we often forget about the important rules of "communication" with them.

1. Check the observance of the three distances

• The monitor screen (more precisely, its upper part) of a stationary computer should be at eye level, no higher or lower.
• The distance from the eyes to the monitor is 60–70 cm.
• The keyboard should be 10-15 cm from the edge of the table. When working on a computer, try to keep your hands in line with your elbows.

2. Limit the time you use your smartphone

Let's face it, most of us are distracted during the day by mobile notifications that are not related to work issues.

OfficeTeam's How Much Time Workers Spend on Cell Phones survey found that an office worker spends on average almost five hours a week texting family and friends, personal mail, and other non-work items.

Distracted by the stream of notifications, we do not concentrate on work matters or waste time that will have to be returned to work anyway - probably in the evening, late at the end of the day. In other words, by stealing time from work, we are actually stealing it from ourselves.

Set aside a specific time - for example, lunch break - when you are ready to answer any extraneous questions.

Comfortable ecosystem and microclimate for you

The workspace is your microplanet on which you create your microclimate. Working by the window overlooking a river, meadow or mountain peaks is much more pleasant than in a metropolis, but in any case, it would be useful to add an element of nature to the workspace, for example, a small houseplant. By the way, the most unpretentious of them are philodendron, spathiphyllum, dracaena, croton and petunia.

1. Monitor humidity and temperature

If you live more comfortably (or think better) in the cool, leaving for a break, adjust the air conditioner to a temperature slightly lower than usual or open a window. Just make sure that there is not an exceptionally warm-loving employee in the immediate vicinity.

Adjust the humidity level: it is optimal if it is equal to 40-50%. And do not forget to regularly ventilate the room during the working day.

2. Make sure no one bothers you

If you are working in an open space, try to stay away from crowded areas: water coolers, coffee machines, or sticker / notice boards.

3. Organize your personal space

The workplace is successfully integrated into the office in the case when you are comfortable communicating with colleagues, but at the same time you feel that you have your own space. If this is not the case, or if you want to be less bothered today during the working day, put a beautiful flower or any other object on the table that visually separates you from the office world.

4. Do not hesitate to demand from the management "relocation"

If your old workplace becomes overwhelming, explain to your boss that you need a change of scenery to stay productive.