For those who are new to this business of working from home, there’s plenty of advice out there. Most of it is of the ‘get up at the same time every day, wear proper clothes, put on make-up and keep office hours’ variety; the importance of separating work from the rest of your life is emphasised.
n an ideal world, that’s all well and good, and perhaps it’s possible for people who live alone or with just one other adult, but for anyone with housemates or children, and without a spare room or handy Shomera already kitted out with a desk, lumbar-friendly chair, whiteboard, mood board, pictures on the walls and piles of colour co-ordinated stationery, the notion that it’s possible to pretend that your home is an actual office is ludicrous.
I’ve been a freelance writer working from home for over 20 years now, and I’m going to let you in on a secret: even though I have a dedicated workspace with a desk and proper chair, my most productive workspace is my bed.
Making a success of the ‘boffice’ does require co-operation from the people with whom you share your home, particularly if there are small children to be looked after. But it can work to everyone’s advantage, and these days flexibility is where it’s at – we all need to help each other get through.
I like to start work early and finish early and I’ve figured out that if I manage to remain in bed for a few hours, say from 7am to 11am, with breaks for Pilates stretches, without having to engage with the rest of the house – the laundry that needs to be turned around, the sourdough starter that needs feeding and the dogs that would love another walk – the more I get done.
While the boffice can be used for any kind of work that requires nothing more than a laptop, notebook and phone, it comes into its own for a specific task that requires focus and for which there is a deadline. (Writers need deadlines, even though most of us do our damnedest to avoid them until they are right upon us.)
I wouldn’t be an advocate of spending the entire working day in bed but completing a chunky task early in the day frees you up to engage with matters domestic, be that the planning and preparation of meals or the supervision of home-schooling, and more work later in the day.
Dr Caroline Collins is a psychologist with a doctorate in the culture of work and behavioural change, who now works in HR. I asked her what she thought of the ‘boffice’ as workspace.
“I’m always hesitant to say, ‘one size fits all’, and these are unprecedented times. People who are used to working from home have this all figured out, so it’s more of an issue for those who find themselves newly working from home,” says Dr Collins.
“Companies have been advising their employees about chairs and tables, as well as giving more holistic advice about mental health, taking breaks, getting fresh air and so on. But everyone has to find their own rhythm. None of us knows what we are doing. As employers, we have to be careful about ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’. I am lucky to have a home office with a door on it, but I’m conscious that not everyone has that. And if the bedroom is the only place available, then so be it.
“My instinct is to advise people to get up out of bed and get dressed, even if you just go back to sit on the made bed to work. The worry that I have about working from bed is that at a time like this of poor sleep, watching Netflix in bed and perhaps even eating in bed, if you spend all your time holed up in one room, life morphs into a blob, which impacts on mental health.
“I think that it’s good to try and impose some structure on the day. I also think that whether you can make a success of working from bed depends on the nature of the work that you do. If your work is creative, something that you think about a lot before you settle down to, then bed might suit better than if you are in customer service and your work involves more administration and process. As employers, we have to trust smart employees to figure out what’s best for them.”
Taking that as qualified approval from Dr Collins, I asked chartered physiotherapist, Sinead Langford of Physio 64 in Dublin 2, for her take on my boffice arrangement – the received wisdom being that working from bed wrecks your back.
With Physio 64 closed, Sinead is currently occupied with video consultations (via telehealth.ie), many with clients working at home for the first time and beset with back and neck issues.
“For people newly working from home,” she says, “musculoskeletal problems that arise are likely to be multifactorial rather than specifically caused by the work ‘posture’. People with pre-existing or recurrent neck or back pain may be more susceptible to aggravation or a flare up from working in bed or in an unaccustomed position, the main reason being that the relevant body tissues are more likely to be deconditioned and so have less capacity to tolerate new stress and strain.
“The biggest problem of working in bed or from a badly-positioned chair with a laptop at the wrong height is the lack of change of position, rather than the posture itself. It can cause discomfort – everything from pins and needles to carpal tunnel syndrome – rather than injury.
“The ideal home-working situation is an ergonomically set-up desk, failing that the kitchen table with the laptop at eye-level and wrists straight is the next best thing. Working in bed is less ideal, because in bed you are more likely to slump and have your head down looking at the screen, so the back of the neck is more stretched.
“Our bodies are inherently good at adapting to gradual change over time; sudden changes in work practices and postures are going to be less well tolerated. Our musculoskeletal systems including joints, muscles, tendons and nerves are nourished and maintained in a healthy state by regular movement and activity, so by regularly changing position and performing simple movements or exercises this can alleviate or prevent any pain.
“If you do have to work from bed, make yourself as comfortable as possible and then regularly get up out of bed to use your muscles and joints.”
Sinead also counsels her clients to take a holistic approach. “It can be difficult for people to fully appreciate the relationship between lifestyle factors such as anxiety or sleep, and pain,” she says.
“An analogy that often resonates well is a cold sore. For example; for some people stress and being generally rundown can physically manifest as a cold sore or a headache, for other people it will be neck pain or back pain. Stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, poor diet and changes in people’s physical activity levels will contribute to pain and discomfort.
“Trying to find a balance between working from home, taking breaks from the constant stream of media and social media updates, getting exercise and creating a space for relaxation and enjoyable moments will go a long to help people manage and cope with pain and discomfort.”