Difficulties of telecommuting: where to get a job at home with a laptop, if there is no separate desktop

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

It will be difficult without special furniture, but some compromise options will be found.

Much depends on the position in which you work during the day. Good posture can help reduce head and back pain, increase lung capacity and improve digestion, making you more productive and confident.

If your job is sedentary, it is best to get a comfortable desk and office chair. According to marketplaces, during self-isolation in Russia in the spring of 2020, sales of computer tables and chairs more than doubled.

But not everyone has the opportunity to make such a purchase. And many were not ready for remote work: 44% of survey participants complained that they were unhappy with the need to work from home precisely because they did not have a full-fledged workplace.

Let's figure out what places are best for comfortable and safe work if you don't have a convenient home office yet.

What should be the correct posture

If you sit uncomfortable, straining your neck, hunching over, pulling your shoulders to your ears, and resting your chin against your chest, you may be at risk of back and joint pain, headaches, constipation, heartburn, incontinence, and other health problems.

To avoid this, take the correct posture:

• the chin is parallel to the floor;
• the neck is calm;
• shoulders are straightened and lowered;
• the back is straight, but not tense, you do not bend your lower back, do not bend over, do not bend to the sides;
• elbows approximately at waist level;
• forearms and wrists parallel to the floor or raised slightly higher;
• hips and shins are at right angles, knees level with hips;
• feet are on the floor.

Where you can work from home, and where - better not

On the kitchen chair

You will most likely get tired quickly - kitchen chairs usually have hard seats and backs, they are not designed to sit on them for hours. But this way your posture, at least, will be closest to ideal: your feet are on the floor, your gaze is directed forward, your back is straight.

If your desk isn't high enough and you have to look down with your chin to your neck, use the stand to raise your laptop higher. If not, you can use a stack of books or a box.

On a stool

Not the best option: hard seat, no back support. You are unlikely to be able to sit for exactly a few hours. Very soon you will begin to slouch, to hunch your shoulders, and this threatens with pain in the spine.

On the floor

In this position, it will not work at all to ensure the correct posture. Most likely, your laptop, papers, or books will be in your lap, so you will inevitably look down and bend your neck. The legs will feel numb, the back will be curled into the letter "C": it will be almost impossible to keep it in a straight position.

So it's better not to work on the floor for a long time.

On the couch

Due to the fact that the seat is wide and soft, it will not work to keep the level position: the buttocks will fall through, you will inevitably want to lean back. In addition, you will hardly be able to raise the laptop to eye level: it will almost certainly lie in your lap, which means hunched shoulders and a tense neck.

If you still want to do a little work in a relaxed mode, sit with your legs stretched out on the seat, your back rested against the pillows, and your laptop or documents were on a special table. But for a long time, this position is not suitable: very soon you will begin to slide along the sofa and hunch over.

On the bed

Here is the same story as with the sofa. Even if at first you sit down straight and rest against the back, after half an hour your chin will press against your chest, and your back will curl up into a beautiful "C".

In addition, the bed clearly does not add to your productive mood, and doctors believe that bed should be associated only with sleep - this helps to avoid insomnia.