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How to set up a up a home office

By David Sturges

Remote working can bring many benefits to employers and employees alike, however it’s important to create a suitable environment. This article looks at factors to consider when setting up a home office.

Before embarking on home working, you need to have a meeting with your family, or those you live with, to discuss how the set-up will work, including your need for privacy and quiet and how this will impact on their lives. 

Basic Set-up

It is important that people create a space to work in and have the resources they need. It is also sensible to minimise distractions. It’s not easy to concentrate on work when the TV is on or the kids are running riot in the next room.  

The best way is to designate an area, preferably a separate room, in which you can work. The usual trend is for this to be a spare room or an attic conversion. If you don’t have a room available to do this, then you need to decide whether you are going to commandeer some existing space, for example the dining room table or a corner of the kitchen, or perhaps even a portable office that can be moved to a convenient location.

Never underestimate the space you will need to operate successfully. On top of the equipment you need like PCs and printers, you may need space for files, documents, reference books etc. 

Things to consider when setting up your office:

Home Furniture

If you plan to spend a lot of time at home, you need to consider whether you have the correct furniture - for example are you going to be happy sitting at your kitchen table on a wooden chair for 7-8 hours per day? 

Telephones and Internet

Do you have suitable telephone lines and internet connections? Is there a limit on your internet downloads? How will you reclaim the call charges for business phone calls?

Privacy

Will you be able to make business phone calls without background noise or be able to shut the door when you need to concentrate? 

Power

Do you have the correct power outlets in the correct places? 

Storage

Do you have enough space and storage for all the documents, reference books etc. you need. If you need more space is this readily available? 

Environment

This may seem an unlikely point, but sitting in the smallest room in the house surrounded by boxes or dirty washing may not be the greatest environment for productive work. You also need to think about light, task lighting may be needed. Sound distractions that may occur also need to be taken into account.

You really need to ensure that your arrangement is suitable for both you and those around you; if you are in any doubt, I would do a dry run before you spend a lot of time and money on setting up your home office. 

Computer Equipment and its use

For most workers the main decision is whether to choose a PC or a Laptop. Laptops provide greater portability, so you can easily move from room to room or even work in the garden; they also take up less space, if this is at a premium. However, working on a Laptop for several hours a day can be uncomfortable so it may be wiser to invest in a separate keyboard, mouse and monitor. 

Laptops however are more expensive than the PC equivalent, so you do need to weigh up the pros and cons.  

Once you have made your decision, you need to ensure that you have the suitable and legitimate licenses software loaded onto your PC or Laptop.  

Other Equipment

Printers

You need to think about the volume of printing you will be doing in your home office. If you are just printing out occasional documents then a low cost Ink/Bubble Jet printer will be suitable. However, if you foresee larger print jobs then a LaserJet or even a colour LaserJet would be advisable.  Inkjets are inexpensive to buy but the ink cartridges can be costly and this could work out more costly in the long run.  

Scanners

If you need to copy documents, photos or other reference material onto your computer you will need a scanner. Most flatbed scanners are relatively cheap to buy and will probably be suitable for most jobs.   

Multi-Function Devices

Most printer manufacturers provide multi-function printer, scanner, copier devices which sometimes include fax facilities. These can be great if you have limited space and are no more costly to buy than the combined prices for a printer and scanner.  

Backup Device

If you are creating or storing work data on your laptop and PC it is sensible to back this up to make sure you are protected should your equipment fail. This can range from a CD or DVD Writer or USB pen device up to Network/PC attached storage or even online backups. 

Wireless

If you have a laptop or want to be able to work from anywhere in your home then it may be easier to use a wireless router/access point. 

Connections to your work

The most productive way to work from home is with a remote connection, either to your office or to a hosted facility. Terminal servers and VPN connections are the main ways of connecting into your office. Terminal servers tend to be quicker and also enable you to work ‘virtually’ at your work PC.  

Remote access programs like ‘Go to my PC’ ‘Log me in’ and UltraVNC allow you to operate your office PC from remote locations. This is fine for occasional use, but can tie up an office PC and stop other people using it. 

Hosted facilities can range from hosted servers, hosted exchange facilities or full hosted desktop services. These services are usually hosted by specialist IT companies and supply all the facilities you would expect in your office, at your remote location.  

The advantage of these solutions is that you are working off the same system as everybody else in your company. Sharing access to data, databases, and email will improve productivity. Another benefit is that you don’t need to install additional software on your home PC/Laptop as everything is available in the remote environment.  

Keeping in touch

There are several options regarding phone/communication systems when working from home. Traditional telephones are fine but may work out expensive as do mobile phones. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) can provide a costs effective alternative.  

VoIP can provide VoIP allows you to make telephone calls using a computer network (over a data network like the Internet). You can use it to speak to anyone with a regular phone number and they can phone you. VoIP converts the voice signal from your telephone into a digital signal, which travels over the internet, then gets converted back at the other end.

Some of the benefits of VoIP are:

• Saves Money and Cost Efficient - Whether there’s just you or hundreds of employees, you will find VoIP a lot cheaper than landline telephone costs. When you are out and about this can also cut the costs of having to use your mobile.
• Flexibility - You can use the phone from anywhere you have an internet connection; it’s like having your office phone with you all the time. You can even talk on your laptop using a headphone/microphone. 
• Extra Features for Free - Voice Mail, Call forwarding, Call waiting, Caller ID, Call Block, Call Return and Do not disturb.
• No Separate Cabling - With VoIP there is no need to put in structured cabling for a separate telephone system; everything can run off standard computer cabling.
• Integration with other applications - Video Conferencing, voicemails forwarded to your email inbox and fax integration are just a few examples.

As some people can find home working lonely, it is important that you are able to keep in touch with your colleagues. Email and Instant Messaging tools like MSN Messenger can increase contact, but it may be worth considering video conferencing and software like Skype to increase communication flow. Of course, you could always pop into the office!