As the majority are working from home, and the kit we get is just usually a laptop what would you say or suggest are the key pieces of equipment to enable us to work better and smarter?
Eg webcam for conference calls, headsets, desks, chairs?
I’m getting a tad tired working at the kitchen table so ideas appreciated.
Getting comfortable with working at home will help productivity levels no end!
I’m using the same desk and chair as my home system, so I’ve got the ergonomics for that working.
The tech I mentioned in my response to the What’s your Tech thread @jesper referenced helps a lot - the items listed there are my standard go-tos.
In addition, I’ve got a laptop stand that’s simple and lets me position the laptop screen the way I want it, and a USB hub that makes sure I can plug in everything I need. The brand doesn’t really matter for those as long as it lets you work in comfort. For a webcam, any generic plug & play device will work if your laptop doesn’t have a built in webcam (mine does, although I don’t turn it on all that often - I’m such a raging introvert that voice-only works just fine for me most of the time).
I do recommend that at minimum you have a keyboard you’re comfortable typing with. I’ve never found laptop keyboards comfortable.
In my view, a temporary setup like the kitchen table is fine for the occasional day working from home, or even for a one-day-a-week setup. For anything more you want a decent and comfortable chair, and a desk that’s at a good height for you to work at.
dedicated work area - creating a physical space for work, that’s discrete from my personal life is important to me
external keyboard and mouse - I like an ergonomic/split keyboard if I’m doing any extended typing, and I still prefer a mouse to a track pad
stand for the laptop - the ergonomics of the laptop screen being barely higher than my hands isn’t great, so even stick it on a box or a pile of books or whatever is a large improvement. Added benefit that on Zoom calls, people aren’t looking up my nose.
monitor(s) - larger screens and multiple displays are always a plus in my book
dock/hub - basically want to minimize the number of things I have to plug in. At work I have the luxury of a Thunderbolt 3 dock, so it’s a single cable that gets me power, USB devices, wired network, and multiple displays, but I didn’t want to spend that much on my home setup so I have a USB hub that supports PD, but need to plug in each monitor independently (the built in HDMI on the USB hub I got had some weird video issues)
standing workspace and/or quality chair - my body hasn’t started yelling too loudly at me when sitting in a folding chair or a cheap office chair, but I’m definitely starting to notice after long days that I’ve got some tight spots and what not.
headphones - if you have housemates of any sort, headphones become important/critical
good lighting for video calls - as much as I hate video call fatigue and being on cam, I recognize that if others can see my face clearly, it helps with communication. I was using a desk lamp to compensate for the window behind me, but eventually bought a cheap ring light to clamp to my desk.
webcam - since I use external displays, the laptop camera is offset at a weird angle/shows the side of my face as much as my face), and I have to make a concerted effort to face that screen and not my primary displays when on calls. I haven’t made this investment yet, but having a webcam I could put on my monitor/head on would be a nice to have.
I already described my DIY sit-stand desk build in the thread Jesper linked above where you can find more detail on how I built it and the costs.
But for me it’s about having a good office chair, the boss let us take the ones out of the office.
Wired Ethernet, at least one of my team members struggles with WIFI; while I got the office to send me a 1GB hub because I have my own cat5 cable crimpers.
USB powered hubs - so I can charge up multiple phones at once.
I’m currently using a normal blanket, just folded over until it makes a small almost-roll that feels squishy, the trick is that it needs to be just enough to encourage you to shift your weight continuously, but not unstable. I have had back problems for ages, and this worked for me.
