Work from Home Equipment and Essentials for Remote Workers – The Complete Guide
The Complete Guide
Are you starting a new job that’s remote?
Do you want to create an ideal home office you’ll love to work in?
Not a problem! You’ve come to the right place to find what you’re looking for.
Let’s get started!
Here is a list of must-have equipment and essentials for remote workers:
1. Dedicated Home Environment & Work Space
A home office – you need a dedicated home office workspace in your residence that is private and free from distractions.
A good chair – choose an ergonomic chair with good back support. They’re designed to support your body comfortably for the long haul. When working long hours, a good chair and desk are very important.
The Mayo Clinic recommends that you set up an ergonomic home office to avoid or reduce aches and pains [1]
The experts also recommend that you adjust your chair’s height so that your feet are flat on the floor or on a footrest and your thighs are parallel to the floor. Adjust the armrests so that your arms rest gently on them and your shoulders are relaxed. [1], [2]
So, if you sit for long periods, it’s worth investing in a great office chair. An ergonomic workspace will help you sit and do work comfortably. [1]
Recommendations
On Chairs: We recommend Herman Miller Aeron Ergonomic Chair and the Steelcase Gesture because they have a lumbar support that are highly adjustable to fit a broad range of people.
Are you on a budget?
Here’s a good example of a highly rated ergonomic chair you can buy if you don’t have much money to spend:
Hon Ignition 2.0 Mesh Back Task Chair
Duramont Ergonomic Office Chair
Do you have enough money to spend?
Consider Herman Miller Aeron Ergonomic Chair or the Steelcase Gesture. You can’t go wrong on either of them.
On Desks: You can’t go wrong on any of the followings:
IKEA MICKE desk, Black-brown / White
VIVO Electric Height Adjustable 63 x 32 inch Stand Up Desk
Amazon Basics Classic Home Office Computer Desk With Shelves
Coleshome 55 Inch Computer Desk
2 Computer and Accessories
Most companies have a Bring Your Own Device or Equipment Provided option.
Equipment Provided Option – It means that remote work equipment and essentials will be bought by your employer and shipped to you.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Option – This option requires you to purchase your own equipment and personal workspace.
For example, Amazon, Apple and Conduent will provide you with the equipment and work essentials needed to perform your job.
Dish Network, LLC provide only a PC, but you will be responsible for any additional accessories such as keyboard, monitor, web camera, mouse, and other tools.
Here’s a list of high-quality computer and electronic accessories for any home office:
Luckily, these are some of the tools we personally use for our work. So, keep reading to ensure you get the right tools for your work.
A. Laptop or Desktop
We recommend that you purchase a high-quality laptop or desktop that can support your work.
Some companies do give a specific hardware/software requirement for work from home. For example,
Five Star Call Centers (FSCC) requires that its newly employed customer service agents to have a desktop or laptop that meets the following minimum spec requirements: [3]
Hardware/Software Requirements:
• Processor: Intel® Core™ i5 5200 Series or greater.
• Memory: 8GB on Windows 8.1 / 10 64 bits or MacOS.
• Screen Resolution: 1280×768 or higher, dual monitors required.
Below are some good examples of the above workstation specifications:
- Best Budget PC – High-quality
- Best Budget PC – High quality
- Best Budget PC – High quality
- High-end computer – High-quality
If a new laptop is not something you can afford at the moment, consider buying refurbished. You can save hundreds of dollars by purchasing a refurbished laptop or desktop.
B. Monitor
Monitor of at least 19” in size is recommended.
If your job necessitates two monitors, you can purchase a single curved or ultrawide monitor. Ultrawide monitors serve a dual purpose by providing users with a large amount of screen space. They appear to be a better option than stacking two monitors side by side.
See Examples Below:
Sceptre 24″ Professional Thin 75Hz 1080p LED Monitor 2x HDMI
SAMSUNG CH890 Series 34-Inch Ultrawide QHD (3440×1440) Computer Monitor
LG 34GP83A-B 34 Inch 21: 9 UltraGear Curved QHD (3440 x 1440)
HP FHD IPS Monitor with Tilt Adjustment and Anti-Glare Panel- 32-Inch
LG 32ML600M-B 32” Inch Full HD IPS LED Monitor with HDR 10
C. Ergonomic keyboard and mouse:
Our Picks:
Ergonomic Computer Keyboard & Mouse Combos
Other Ergonomic Computer Keyboard & Mouse Combos
More:
Ergonomic Keyboard Only: Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard for Business (5KV-00001)
More ergonomic mouse examples can be found here and here
E. Headset
Not all headsets and headphones models are created equally. So, make sure you purchase a headset that offers optimum comfort, enhanced audio and Noise-Cancelling Qualities.
Our Picks:
High budget – here
Mid budget – here
Low budget- here – Click on the link and find “Best Sellers” at the bottom of the page.
F. Ethernet cable
From your work location, your computer will need to be hardwired and connected directly to your modem via an Ethernet cable
E. USB Web Camera
Our Picks:
F. Noise-Canceling Devices –
Our Picks:
G. Acoustic Foam Panels – used to block out noise.
Our Picks:
H. Docking station – All of your equipment can be connected using a docking station.
Great choice: The Dell Docking Station – USB 3.0
With a single cable, the Dell Docking Station – USB 3.0 connects your laptop to up to three additional monitors, various external devices, and the Internet. It includes a simple method for extending the capabilities of your portable PC and customizing your desktop computing environment.
3 Good Internet Service
what is a good internet speed for working from home?
What is considered a good internet speed is different for every user. A good internet speed is, first and foremost, dependent on your need.
For any Telecommuting (work-from-home) job, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) recommends a minimum of 5-25 Mbps. [4]. See the diagram 1!
The FCC is a government agency that regulates telecommunications through cable, radio, television, satellite and wire in the United States.
However, the FCC recommendation may only be suitable for internet users who only do basic internet activities like sending basic emails, web surfing, browsing social media or similar activities. The recommendations do not consider multiple devices, number of users and their internet activities. Hence, they aren’t suitable for data-intensive web activities.
Multiple users or internet activities running concurrently on a 5-25 Mbps connection will almost certainly result in a slow internet connection.
If you work from home and frequently send large files for work, stream video, spend time in Zoom, video conferencing or Microsoft Teams meetings, you’ll need a fast internet connection.
Cable and fiber-optic internet connections are your best bets for reliable and fast internet speeds. And fiber-optic internet speeds are the fastest home internet option available today [5], says The Broadband Now, an independent website that helps consumers find and compare internet services.
According to Verizon, an American multinational telecommunications company that provides communications, information, and entertainment products and services, a good internet speed is around 100Mbps, and anything above 100 Mbps is considered “fast” internet because it can connect multiple devices at once. [6]
Thus, when picking a plan, consider your needs and carefully choose internet speed that meets your needs.
In Closing
A carpenter is only as good as his tools, they say. To some extent, that is true for remote workers. You can’t do your work from home efficiently unless you have the right tools.
It is your responsibility as a work-from-home employee to ensure that you have the necessary remote work tools to perform your work from home. To help prevent ergonomic injury to yourself, make sure you have the necessary work equipment and remember to keep your work environment safe and healthy.
References:
[1]. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/office-ergonomics/art-20046169
[2]. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/heres-how-to-set-up-your-office-to-avoid-aches-pain/
[4]. https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/broadband-speed-guide
[5]. https://broadbandnow.com/guides/dsl-vs-cable-vs-fiber
[6]. https://www.verizon.com/articles/internet-speed-classifications/
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