How to Create a Comfort Zone in Your Home Office

As a financial professional involved in wealth management, you have probably been working in your home office on certain days, if not every day, in the last several months. We don't know what the post-pandemic world will look like but rest assured, we will likely spend far more time working in our home offices than we did previously.

Unfortunately, many home offices seem to share a common characteristic: they just aren't comfortable. This isn’t a surprise since we furnished them to be used periodically Given the stress we face every day, creating a zone of comfort in your home office is critical to your health, productivity, and sense of well-being.

Let’s look at a few areas that are critically important and easily addressed:

The temperature of your office affects your productivity, according to a detailed study carried out by the University of Helsinki. [1] They claim the ideal office temperature is approximately 72 degrees (F). Not so, says the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory of Cornell University. [2] They suggest the best temperature of your office for maximum productivity is 77 degrees. To be fair, the authors of the Cornell study point out that this may be too warm for some people. [3]

An important variable to keep in mind, according to the study, is women can feel cold at temperatures which men often find comfortable. This difference is accounted for by gender and Body Mass Index (BMI).  

In summary, there’s no one size fits all temperatures. You should find that your ideal temperature is somewhere between 72 (F) and 77 degrees (F). [4]

An area far more significant than it may seem is furniture design. Office furniture which doesn't fit your height, weight, shoulder width, and other body measurements will often cause musculoskeletal disorders such as chronic neck tension, mild to intense pain from muscle and ligament strain, carpal tunnel syndrome and dozens of other conditions. [5]      

Only ergonomic furniture which fits your body can prevent pain and discomfort. Keep in mind, there are many types of ergonomic furniture, and none will help you if you don't acquire furniture in which you can adjust to your body measurements.

No doubt you have seen electrically powered adjustable height desks that you can use to both stand-up or sit down while working. The benefit of this type of desk comes from alternating standing and sitting. According to a study carried out by Cornell: "computer workers who had access to the adjustable work surfaces also reported significantly less musculoskeletal upper-body discomfort, lower afternoon discomfort scores, and significantly more productivity." [6]

Last but not least is light. According to dozens of studies over the years, lighting has a dramatic effect on productivity. A quick web search of the subject will return a plethora of information. But the measurement you want to use in a home office is "lux." This tells you how bright a particular surface is, such as a desktop. 500 lux is considered ideal. [7] There are free apps for smartphones that can measure lux.

I challenge you to consider making these adjustments to your home; you might be surprised at the difference they make in your comfort and therefore, productivity.

Resources: 

[1] https://indoor.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/lbnl-60946.pdf

[2] https://www.rochesterfirst.com/news/cornell-university-study-finds-that-staff-in-warm-offices-are-more-productive-than-in-chilly-ones/

[3] Many studies of humans and how we interact with our environment are carried out by the  Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory of Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology.

[4] https://www.pgi.com/blog/2018/06/what-is-the-ideal-office-temperature-for-productivity/

[5] https://ergo-plus.com/musculoskeletal-disorders-msd/

[6] https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2004/10/workers-more-productive-when-using-adjustable-tables

[7] https://www.ledvance.com/consumer/light-for-your-home/home-office-lighting/index.jsp

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Contributing Writer: Subject Matter Expert Charles McCain