To stay fit and productive in the home office, you need the right furniture and equipment. 9 tips for more movement, a better sense of well-being and a healthy back in the home office.
At the latest since the Corona crisis, the home office has become indispensable for many people. Since we all currently spend a lot of time in the home office, it is enormously important to set up one's workplace at home optimally. After all, 64 percent of all employees complain about health problems caused by working from home. In particular, back pain, muscle aches and headaches plague employees.
Set up home office - what do I need?
But what is the best equipment for a home office? Basic things like a good laptop, a monitor, a fast internet connection, an ergonomic mouse and keyboard, a headset and possibly a mobile container should be provided by your employer anyway, so that you can work efficiently at home.
Tip: How you can design your workplace ergonomically correct and what you need for it, we explain here.
But what modern office furniture, equipment and "helpers" should your home office have to keep you fit, moving, in a good mood, healthy and productive? We've collected ideas to help you feel great in your home office. 9 must-haves for more movement, better well-being and a healthier back in the home office.
Not like this! Especially in the home office, the right equipment is enormously important. Too little exercise and an unhealthy way of working - e.g. lounging on the couch instead of sitting at a desk - quickly lead to health problems.
Home office tip 1: Place plants
This tip sounds banal, but it is worth its weight in gold for the general well-being of your home office. Plants help to permanently improve the indoor climate at your home workplace. With a few plants in your office, you'll never have "thick air" again. Another positive effect: plants have a calming effect. Especially when you have few opportunities to go outside, green houseplants create a pleasant splash of color in the room and help relieve stress.
Ideal houseplants for your home office
- Succulents: very easy to care for, require little water
- Lucky feather: requires little light. Very suitable for dark rooms
- Elephant foot: suitable for very bright locations and direct sunlight
- Green lily: very good for improving the indoor climate
- Aloe vera: requires a lot of light. Needs watering only every 3-4 weeks
A colorful mix of different plants, brings a "lively" splash of color to your home office. The lucky feather (plant in the foreground) is also very low maintenance.
Tip: Take a daily walk through the park, or even better through the forest. A study by the Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim (2019) has shown that trees and flowers have an enormously positive effect on mental well-being and help reduce stress.
Home office tip 2: An office chair that promotes movement
This tip is from the "no brainer" category. When it comes to office furniture in the home office, an ergonomic office chair is of course the most important thing. Without a good, functional desk chair, even the best technical equipment is useless! Therefore, you should make sure to equip your home office with a chair that keeps you moving while sitting. After all, constant, light movement while sitting strengthens the back and promotes an upright sitting posture. In addition, you can breathe more deeply in a chair that allows your body to move freely. This increases the oxygen content in the blood, improves concentration and stimulates the circulation. Another advantage: active sitting is good for your intervertebral discs. They are always evenly loaded and thus remain healthy.
Tip: The legendary Aeris Swopper active office chair combines all the features you need to sit ergonomically and in motion.
The Aeris Swopper is the space-saving solution for your home office. The active office chair keeps you fit and moving at work.
For me, the Aeris Swopper is the home office discovery par excellence. I finally have no more back pain.
"
Margret Meincken
Freelance copywriter and satisfied Aeris customer
Home office tip 3: Noise-canceling headphones
In our digital world, we are constantly bombarded and distracted by thousands of impressions, bright colors and social media. But noise also causes a lot of trouble for many people in the home office. Street noise, construction work in the house, the ringing of the parcel carrier or the neighbor's music: noise is an omnipresent and annoying companion in the home office.
Headphones with noise-canceling function help you block out these distractions and concentrate fully on your work. Especially when you want to focus on a project, noise-canceling headphones are a great way to mitigate the noise of the outside world. Best of all, less noise means less stress, less stress means better overall well-being, better overall well-being means better work-life balance...but we digress. Let's move on to home office tip 4.
Tip: Noise-canceling headphones are available for between 50 and 300 euros. It's best to get advice from a specialist retailer and test various models on site.
Home office tip 4: A height-adjustable desk
In addition to the office chair, a height-adjustable desk - for example for example our Aeris Active Desk - is the second piece of home office furniture that is essential for movement during working hours. Regularly alternating between sitting and standing keeps you fit, stimulates your circulation, and improves your oxygen supply and thus your overall well-being. In addition, standing up is good for your back and posture. That's why a sit-stand desk should be part of every modern home office.
Ideally, the ratio between standing and sitting should be 40-60 and you should change every 30 minutes at the latest.
Tip: If you don't have a height-adjustable desk, you can quickly and easily convert your normal desk into a standing desk with a desk attachment. You can get the tops for between 80 and 200 euros.
A height-adjustable desk significantly improves your workspace in the home office. By alternating between standing and sitting, the circulation is stimulated and the back muscles are strengthened.
Home office tip 5: A stress ball on the desk
People who write a lot on the keyboard often have painful and tense muscles in their hands. If you don't use an ergonomic mouse and keyboard, this pain is almost pre-programmed. After a short time, the tension can spread to the arms, shoulders and neck. A small helper, which prevents these problems very well, is a stress ball. Squeezing the squeeze ball has advantages for body and mind:
On the one hand, the muscles in the fingers and the ball of the hand as well as in the forearms are loosened and relaxed. On the other hand, squeezing the stress ball - as the name suggests - reduces stress. Especially when stressed and overworked, people tend to do so-called "skipping actions" to distract themselves for a moment. Squeezing and squeezing an anti-stress ball is ideal for this purpose to relieve these tensions. After a few minutes of stress relief with the squeeze ball, you can get back to your project with a fresh head. And your hands will thank you for it, too.
Tip: Use the stress ball several times a day for a few minutes. Just 2-3 minutes in between is enough to train and relax the muscles in your hands.
Home office tip 6: A balance board
Exercising on a balance board keeps you fit and helps clear your mind.
A balance board is the perfect home office workout tool for in-between workouts. A balance board keeps the whole body in motion and has several advantages. Besides improving your coordination, it trains your sense of balance and works numerous muscle groups. Training on a balance board strengthens the muscles in the feet, legs and torso and helps against aching legs. In addition, you train the deep muscles in the back. This prevents posture problems and back pain. Another benefit is that the exercise gets your circulation going and increases the blood and oxygen supply from your brain to the tips of your toes. So after a few minutes, you can get back to work with a fresh head.
Admittedly, keeping your balance on a balance board is not easy, but practice makes perfect!
Tip: If you have never used a balance board before, try out a beginner's model for balance exercises. It's best to seek advice from a specialist retailer. Just 5-10 minutes of daily training will noticeably improve your sense of balance after a few days.
Home office tip 7: A desk organizer
Order is half the battle. Well, we don't want to overdo it, but a little order on the desk is of great importance for the general well-being. A structured way of working saves you a lot of stress and time. So that you at least no longer have to search for things on your desk, a desk organizer is a cheap must have for your home office. So you always keep the overview.
Tip: Use the last 5 minutes to tidy up your desk every evening. This way you can switch off your mind from your workday and create a structured environment for the start of the next day.
Home office tip 8: Aeris Muvmat standing mat
After the order on the desk, this home office must have provides again for neat movement. Our Aeris Muvmat is the ideal addition to your standing desk. Standing on hard floors is hard work for your body and in the long run harmful for your intervertebral discs. The standing mat with 3D structure ensures that you are always slightly in motion when working at your standing desk. These micro-movements stimulate the foot reflex zones and thus improve blood circulation in the legs. By constantly adjusting your posture, the intervertebral discs are also evenly loaded and thus ideally supplied with fluid.
Tip: A study has shown that using an anti-fatigue mat, such as the Aeris Muvmat, has been proven to improve short- and long-term concentration. By using a standing mat, you'll work ergonomically correct in your home office and be better able to focus on your projects.
Standing on the Aeris Muvmat stimulates the foot reflex zones and thus relaxes the muscles in the legs.
Home office tip 9: A foot massage roller
What the stress ball is for the hands, the foot massage roller is for the feet. This little helper should not be missing at any home office workplace. A foot massage in between stimulates the foot reflex zones. This stimulates the nerve pathways throughout the body and thus relaxes the muscles. Especially for people who like foot massages, a foot massage roller is an ideal helper for relaxation and stress relief.
Tip: You can get foot massage rollers for under 20 euros. A use of 5-10 minutes is enough to relax and stimulate the muscles in the feet and legs.
5 more home office tips you should definitely consider
- Regular ventilation (shock ventilation)
- Drink enough
- Be sure to observe breaks
- Provide enough light
- Keeping time management in view
