By now, many of us have switched to remote work for the better. A survey conducted by Owl labs revealed that 59 percent of the working force would rather opt for an employer who supports work from home than on-site operation. Upwork estimates that 36.2 million Americans will switch to complete remote work by 2025, and freelance writers and digital nomads are just the pioneers.
With such a great inclination towards WFH, people are developing choices and preferences for their remote work environment. We’re at a point now where working from no more means working from bed. Instead, people are opting to create proper personalized and customized workspaces at home to facilitate themselves.
Here are some of the trending choices and preferences for home offices in 2022:
Functional, Space-Saving Furniture
Since home offices do not have massive covered spaces or multiple rooms, they ought to have lots of functionality within the limited space. And for that, we need compact but functional furniture.
Functional furniture refers to furniture that lets you do more with little space. For example, consider an L-shaped desk. It saves loads of space and helps you make the most out of the corner of your home office. The desk’s top is such that it combines the covered area of two desks at once without occupying much of your room space. So, you’ve plenty of space to place multiple monitors, printers, papers, stationery goods, etcetera atop this desk.
Ergonomic Office Furniture
Along with functional and practical home office furniture, ergonomic office chairs and tables are also becoming popular. Since the users will be spending their day and night at the same spot with minimal movement here and there, they ought to have a work environment that doesn’t damage their physical health.
For example, office chairs with lumbar support are becoming increasingly popular. Similarly, sit-and-stand desks that allow the user to both sit and stand (as desired) are also becoming popular.
Ergonomic keyboards and mouse pads are also some examples of trending ergonomic home office tools. Adding these to your workspace brings a balance between your health and work, and it amplifies your productivity levels.
Balanced & Soothing Environment
Since working all by yourself in a closed environment can build up stress, people are opting for soothing colors for their work environment at home. Colors like white, dusty pink, earthy brown, soft green, etcetera can have a calming effect.
Now, that doesn’t mean you should go for a monotonous workspace. It will become too boring! Choose complementing colors. For example, you can opt for a white office chair with an earthy brown desk.
Eco-friendly Approach
The last two years have taught us a lot about our ignorance towards ourselves and the planet. So, this year, most people are choosing to go with eco-friendly home office furniture.
Eco-friendly furniture options include furniture crafted from materials that last long (preferably natural materials like wood and glass). You won’t be purchasing over and over again. Hence, contributing less to the overall carbon effect on the planet. Similarly, instead of using fancy lights that consume loads of energy, you can opt for natural light.
Set up your home office near a large window that brings lots of light. It will keep you refreshed too.
A Comfy Side Place
Remote work has its benefits, but it also has its downsides. When working from home, you are completely deprived of your social support. At times, you may miss the random conversations you used to have with your fellow employees at the coffee machine. You may miss the mini-break it used to give to your nerves.
So, to tackle that, there’s another ingenious trend we’re witnessing in 2022: the comfy side place! A lot of people are opting to buy a separate super comfortable chair or sofa for their work desk or workplace at home. They choose to place it at a distance from their actual office chair.
The idea is to switch to that seat when the circumstances become too stressful, or you’re too tired and need a break. Instead of calling it a day, quitting work, and going to bed, you can take a mini-break with this comfy side place. In this way, your focus would stay aligned as you return to work.
Final Thoughts
We hope this quick insight into home office trends 2022 helps you plan a trendy and comfy workspace for yourself. Remember, if something’s trending, it can help you. But it need not dictate you. Pour in your creativity and be yourself!