FOCUS ERGONOMICS
HOME ADVANTAGE
While workers are beginning to go back to the oƝ ce, a signiƛ cant number of knowledge workers are still primarily
home based. A trend paper from DURABLE, ‘Working in small spaces’ provides some practical solutions
When FMJ covered research by Durable on
working habits at the beginning of 2020,
no one could have foreseen that by April 2020
onwards the majority of o„ ice workers would
be working from home. In that survey over
half of the comments made by participants
alluded to the fact that their organisation was
only just starting to make the move towards
agile working practices. Now, thanks to COVID
as a catalyst, working from home has become
commonplace.
According to the Centre of European Economic
Research, while working from home has many
advantages, 56 per cent of home-based workers
said that separating work and private life was a
problem, while 54 per cent complained their home
oŽ ice was not well equipped.
The good news is that there are some clever
ideas and solutions for dividing areas even in the
smallest spaces, and for working well with minimal,
but (multi-)functional equipment.
MULTIFUNCTIONAL FURNITURE
Modern furniture design is created for flexibility,
with dining tables both suitable for eating but also
as a desk. Under the heading ‘Small workspace by
day, dining room by night’, Ikea shows how a space
38 NOVEMBER 2021
can be used as a kitchen, dining room and oŽ ice.
The centrepiece is a variable table comprising
several parts that can be used as a desk in its
rectangular configuration and as a dining table
when configured as a square surface. Various shelf
elements divide and sort the cooking and oŽ ice
equipment for books and ornaments on one side,
and folders and documents on the other.
PORTABLE ORGANISERS
If a bedroom or living room is an oŽ ice too, it pays
to invest in ways of reverting back to its normal
function when you’re finished work. Portable
furniture and organisation tools that you can take
with you and move into a corner, shelf or cabinet
a™ er work are ideal. DURABLE has a range of lines,
including a mobile multifunctional trolley or a
tablet holder for table top or wall mounting. The
Varicolor series of drawer boxes and storage trays
can keep documents and utensils organised, while
blending in to a living environment.
ADAPTABLE LIGHTING
Light is an essential element of good oŽ ice design
and it’s especially useful if you can simply take
along your light with you. The lamp brand Luctra
created Flex, a portable lamp for indoor and
outdoor use, with a battery life of up to 40 hours,
for precisely this purpose. You can take the lamp
wherever you go and simply lean it against a table,
chair or other piece of furniture.
CLEVERLY INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY
No home oŽ ice is complete without technical
equipment, from PCs and laptops to printers.
However, all those devices can stop a space looking
like home. You can store away the equipment a™ er
use in a cabinet or sideboard with doors, and even
leave the printer in there permanently. A hole in the
back of the piece of furniture can help with cable
management.
GARDEN WORK
If a home is small, but there is a garden or terrace,
users might opt for a garden oŽ ice. The easiest
option that you can convert and use, at least in
spring and summer, is a garden shed. You can now
even buy ready-made garden oŽ ices for year-round
use, some come fully furnished as oŽ ices. Failing
that, you can always install plants on or beside the
desk, which not only creates a natural atmosphere,
but can also improve the room climate.