Working From Home – The Impact on the Rest of the Household
Creating a productive workspace is possibly not an easy ask for some people. And while in the current climate this has become a necessity for many, there will be an impact on everyone in the household.
This is part 2 of my mini series of blogs looking at different aspects of working from home.
The impact on the rest of the household needs to be considered when arranging your home.
A space to work
Impact on the rest of the household
Having to wear several “hats” at the same time
Working out a schedule
Impact on Health – Physical
Impact on Health – Mental wellbeing
Today I’m looking at the impact that working from home can –
Impact on the rest of the household
While dealing with personal challenges, the rest of the household have their own to face. You may be in a postion where your partner is also now working from home and two work areas are required. Then there’s the need for space for the children to do their school work. The impact of this can be huge. All of a sudden the house has been redesigned and you now have bedrooms that look like a hoarders paradise. This of course the children love, as they have to weave and clamber through and over things to get to bed, but it’s not ideal!
Being able to create areas that work best for everyone throws up lots of challenges. Not only space but reorganising and rearranging. Smallish boxes of items, having been cleared away, may be stored easily but larger boxes or multiple boxes or even pieces of furniture start to take up valuable space.
Clutter and Mood
Peoples moods can be affected with clutter build up in the house or trying to work with noise and chaos around them. The children may be impacted by being at home and not being able to play with or see friends. Routines change and nothing is the “normal” we used to know.
The challenges of creating areas to work in at home can affect the whole household
Research shows that there is a link between clutter and poorer mental health. (From psychologytoday.com)
Internet issues, work time, quiet time or lack of, playtime and exercise time, little frustrations for everyone involved, all building up. Having clear areas in the home help stop feeling so overwhelmed with “stuff”
Communication is a key aspect, not only to how the day is going to go, but also how everyone is feeling. What are peoples expectations or what ideas do householders have as to how things can work better for the good of everyone. How can rooms be rearranged? Can you clear things away? Can more space be made to accomodate more people inside than normal?
Next I am looking at having to wear multiple “hats”.