Creating your home office for optimal mental health

Home offices are homes first and offices second. The best work-life balance reflects this dynamic. Even our CEO, Job, who has a highly optimized home office setup, fills his space with things like LEGO creations, guitars, and beds for his dogs.

When you spend a significant amount of time in an environment, that experience can shape you in unexpected ways. In fact, research shows that the right environment can help reduce stress and protect your mental health. 

But if you’re not sure where to start, we’re here to assist. In this article, we discuss how a home office environment can affect you, what you need out of yours, and how to create the ideal space for your mental health.

How can your home office impact your mental health?

We all know that our jobs can affect our mental health. But, we may fail to consider how the environment we work in can impact our state of mind, even from a home office. 

Generally, people love working remotely. In fact, 62% of workers feel more productive when working remotely, and 66% would start looking for another job that offered flexibility right away if their ability to work from home was taken away. 

Plus, working remotely can save employees money. Hybrid workers save an average of $19.11 per day when working from home instead of going into the office, and they may also qualify for home office deductions.

Why else are employees usually excited about the opportunity to work from a home office? 

In part, they anticipate a better way of life. The same study mentioned above found that in 2022, 78% of workers changed jobs looking for a better work-life balance, while 77% sought less stress and 76% wanted more flexibility from their work.

But not all of those benefits come from your role alone. Even when working from the comfort of your own home, your surroundings can influence your day-to-day mental health. For example, one study shows that your physical work environment can have a significant impact on your overall job satisfaction, which, in turn, can affect your productivity. 

As remote work has reshaped the world, many newly remote workers have created their home offices piece by piece without any overarching strategy. While understandable in the circumstances, the following factors can lead to suboptimal spaces and unnecessary stress:

• Clutter: Cluttered homes increase the stress hormone cortisol and can put you in a more depressive mood.

• Noise: Noise from neighbors (or even noticing their presence) can cause a decline in mental health.

• Lack of natural light: Mental health can improve with more windows in a room.

• Overcrowding: Your mental health can decline if you don’t have a dedicated workspace — for example, if you work at a dining table next to roommates. Situations like this can result in a reduced ability to concentrate and disengagement, and more troubling issues like stress and depression.

• Lack of greenery: The presence of plants has been shown to positively impact remote employees’ mood, concentration, and overall well-being.

• Uncomfortable temperatures: Remote workers who aren’t happy with the temperature of their home office may have trouble concentrating. Those who are satisfied, on the other hand, may avoid new mental health issues, like depression or mood swings. 

• Lack of outdoor access: Employees who work from home but aren’t able to access a patio or terrace may experience a lack of concentration.

• Poor indoor air quality: Improved air quality in your home office can lead to better sleep and less stress overall.

No matter where you work, you deserve to operate in a space that makes you feel comfortable and safe.

What do I need from a home office?

Your home office exists to serve you. Not your friends, and not your boss. You live and work there, and it’s up to you to make sure it feels right. When coming up with office ideas, consider the following questions: 

• Do I thrive surrounded by all my favorite trinkets or in a more minimalistic environment?

• Am I more comfortable sitting or standing while I work?

• Would I rather have pets near me or out of my space?

• Do I want my home office to foster creativity or efficiency?

• What temperature promotes optimal concentration for me?

Instead of building a home office fit for public consumption, ignore what the critics say and build something that helps you feel the way you want to feel while you work.

How to build the optimal home office for your mental health

If you can, dedicate a day to creating your ideal contemporary home office. It may sound drastic, but by taking everything out of your office and examining items one by one, you can make sure that nothing enters your workspace without your explicit approval. 

Here are some guidelines to get you started:

Choose ergonomic items

It’s difficult to remain stress-free if you're uncomfortable throughout the day. Choose items for your office setup that will keep you comfortable, such as an ergonomic office chair, mouse, walking pad, or standing desk. 

If you opt to sit at a desk, make sure it’s set at the right height for you so that you’re not slouching all day or having to reach too far for the mouse.

Optimize your desk setup for your mental health

Now that you know the factors that can influence your mental health, arrange the items on your desk (and the desk itself) to your benefit. Even if your home office doesn’t have a ton of square footage, place your office furniture and office accessories strategically to make the most of your space. 

This can look like positioning your setup near a window or plant, organizing a tangled mess of cables, or adding a second monitor to improve your efficiency. Try to position your screens away from direct light, too, to avoid dealing with a constant glare.  

Incorporate items that reduce stress

As much as possible, make your home office your sanctuary. Incorporate cozy elements like candles or diffusers with calming scents, a vision board with images that relax or inspire you, or lamps if you don’t have window access. Little touches, like a squeezable stress ball or a white noise machine, can be helpful, too. 

Plus, as many of us already know, indoor plants are an excellent addition to a home office. Specifically, they’ve been shown to reduce physiological and psychological stress.

As important as optimizing your home office is, it’s also crucial to have the resources you need to take care of your physical and mental health. 

Remote lets you offer the best-in-class benefits available to support your employees’ well-being, no matter where in the world their home offices are.

Work from home stress-free with Remote

Once you have your home office just the way you like it, don’t despair if you still feel a bit off while working remotely. Use this opportunity to think about other areas in your life where you might be able to make positive changes.

Take a closer look at the tools you use on a daily basis, for instance. With Remote’s comprehensive Freelancer Hub, you can do away with virtual clutter like writing contracts from scratch and chasing down payments through email. Remote helps you effectively onboard new clients, generate compliant contracts, and easily track the status of invoices and payments through one secure, reliable platform.

To learn more about how Remote can help you work from home stress-free, talk to one of our in-house experts today.