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How to work from home in 2023: 30 tips for success

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While working from home gives you flexibility (goodbye, commute), it often means less structure and more distractions from your housemates. As such, you may have to switch up your schedule and learn new ways to succeed in a remote work setting. Get 24 tips to help you find balance—including ways to set boundaries, create productive routines, and virtually connect with your coworkers.

With the rise in both part-time and full-time remote work opportunities, you can say farewell to long commutes and office cubicles. 

Thriving in these new circumstances can be challenging, so we’re covering 30 work from home tips for boosting productivity .

[inline illustration] How to work from home in 2022 (infographic)

Build remote communication best practices

Remote collaboration can take some getting used to, but you can overcome this hurdle by setting clear communication norms. Here’s how:

1. Set communication guidelines

To ensure everyone on your team is on the same page, establish guidelines for the frequency, timing, and means of communication. Additionally, determine how cross-departmental communication will work. 

Decide which communication medium would be best in a given situation. For example, if questions or issues can be addressed in an email or chat message, there’s no need to set up a meeting. 

Conversely, if the situation calls for frequent back-and-forths in real time, a quick call would be more ideal. 

2. Set project goals and expectations early

To account for the delays in communication, it’s best to set expectations early, especially when you’re working on highly cross-functional projects. Be clear in setting individual and team priorities. Provide detailed guidelines, goals, and dates for projects. 

After setting initial expectations and goals, be prepared to address questions or clarify things as they come up. Once projects are underway, provide regular feedback to ensure expectations are being met.

It’s also important to be flexible and prepare to shift dates around if needed.

3. Overcommunicate when working in different time zones

Work-from-home jobs may provide remote employees the flexibility to work from anywhere. However, when people work from different time zones, response times are prolonged. To avoid losing time between exchanges, be as detailed as possible in your messages or emails. 

Here are some ways to do this:

Provide as much information upfront as possible

Specify project deadlines or when you need to hear back by

Link to resources or related discussion threads 

Supplement your message with images or screenshots 

Let team members know when you’ll be away ahead of time

Getting the hang of asynchronous communication will help you avoid losing time on projects and ensure your team has everything they need to move forward on their work. 

4. Record team meetings

Larger team meetings or all-hands meetings are good opportunities to connect with other team members and get company updates. However, not everyone may be able to attend these meetings due to time zone differences or if they’re out sick or on vacation.

To ensure that all team members feel included and have access to the same information, record and share these virtual meetings with everyone. 

This also goes for training sessions or other important presentations. Make the recordings and slide decks accessible so team members can review and get up to speed at their own pace.

Create ways to stay productive at home

Just because you're not in the office doesn't mean you can't be productive. Try these strategies to boost your focus while working remotely:

5. Find your productivity window

It’s helpful to knock out high-priority tasks in the morning, but working from home gives you the freedom to do your most important work when you’re at your most productive. 

Are you a morning person who loves to knock out tasks before lunch? Do you get your energy late in the day and even into the night? As long as you’re getting enough sleep and making time for yourself, schedule your high-priority work during your best windows of productivity. Then, you can do lower-priority work whenever you want. 

Recognize when your peak production hours are and schedule that time to do uninterrupted work. If it’s outside regular working hours, talk to your manager about creating a schedule that works for you. 

6. Combine your to-do list with time blocking

It’s easy to get off track or procrastinate when you’re working from the comfort of home, so it can be helpful to use time management or task management strategies. For instance, you can use to-do list software and time blocking to schedule tasks in order of importance.

Visualizing your tasks can help you stay on track and get things done on time. If you start the day with a clear idea of what you want to accomplish, it’ll help you focus on finishing one task at a time and prevent multitasking. 

7. Limit distractions

When your personal and professional lives intertwine at home, external interruptions during work hours are inevitable—understandably so. That said, you can also take steps to limit distractions as much as possible.

Here are some things you can do to reduce distractions when working:

If you don’t need your phone, set it to silent or airplane mode

Disable app notifications during designated focus time

Wear noise-canceling headphones to block out distracting sounds 

8. Commit to heads-down time

Even when working from home, it’s necessary to tune out coworkers sometimes. If you need to commit to a project for a little while, turn off chat and email notifications so you don’t find yourself scatterbrained.

Take advantage of status updates in chat to let your team know when you’re in focus mode. Make sure you’re scheduling head-down time the same way you would a meeting.

9. Tackle high-priority tasks in the morning

As Mark Twain once said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.”

When this quote is applied to task prioritization, it’s a sound piece of advice. By eating your “frog”—or tackling the biggest or most important task—in the morning, you’ll feel more accomplished and less stressed throughout the day as you move onto less demanding or time-sensitive tasks. 

You’ll likely be able to direct more of your undivided attention to a task first thing in the morning, since there will be more distractions later on as other tasks and notifications start to come in.

Be patient with yourself and those around you

Optimize your space and your life

When transitioning to work from home, it’s important to create a space and routine that will support your productivity. Try these techniques to optimize your work environment and schedule:

10. Create a morning routine

Transitioning to remote work might have thrown off your schedule, so getting back into a daily morning routine can help you feel ready to start your workday. 

Set up your own “commute” to ease into your workday. For example, get dressed like you’re going to work, take a shower, and make a cup of coffee. If you’re intentional about “going to work,” you’re also more likely to be productive . 

Similarly, you can also create a routine to wrap up your workday and decompress. For example, you could review what you finished for the day, change your clothes, and take some time to meditate or clear your mind.

11. Stick to a schedule

Telecommuting, hybrid jobs, and other home opportunities can come with the perks of flexible hours and convenience, but keep in mind that it may take longer to get things done if there are constant disruptions to your workflow. 

You don’t have to work a strict 9–5 day, but you should designate work hours and stick to them when possible to keep up a continuous workflow. 

Don’t forget to schedule breaks so you have time to recharge. Taking regular breaks lets your brain relax and refocus, helping you remain productive throughout the day.

It can also be easy to lose track of time when you’re working online, so using time-tracking software can help you follow your schedule. 

12. Define a separate physical workspace

It may be tempting to work from your bed or the kitchen, but your productivity might take a hit since there are distractions all around you. It’s better to separate your home life and work environment so there are clear boundaries. 

If you don’t have a separate room to use as an office, carve out a section of any room as your workspace. Invest in a good desk and chair so that you can work comfortably and focus. 

Having a designated workspace can get you in the right mindset for work and signal to other members of your household that you’re at work. 

13. Create your ideal office

Working from home gives you the power to create the office of your dreams. You can get the standing desk you’ve always wanted or finally play your working music out loud without distracting anyone. 

Being the architect of your own office allows you to craft a space where you’ll be happy, and therefore more productive. The most important thing is to create an office where you’ll be comfortable and focused. Limit the distractions around you but also design a space you won’t dread going to every day. 

14. Declutter your workspace

It can be hard to focus on work when your desk is messy. Research has shown that clutter can make us feel more stressed and anxious. 

To avoid this, take the time to come up with a system to organize your workspace at home. A tidy workspace will save you time in cleaning and finding things you need.

Here are some ways to stay organized:

Develop a digital or physical filing system for organization

Organize your browser’s toolbar with bookmarks and frequently used features

Declutter your desk during breaks

At the end of the day, leave your desk the way you’d like to see it the next day. 

15. Communicate expectations to your housemates

To keep everything running smoothly both at work and at home, it’s crucial to set expectations for your housemates. 

Let them know your work schedule as well as how to reach you while you’re working. 

If you’re a parent and you’re sharing caregiving responsibilities, coordinate your schedules accordingly. For example, you can divide the day into shifts, alternating working and focusing on child care.  

It’s a good idea to set expectations for your housemates on how to get your attention during work hours. For example, when your door is closed, it means they should slide a note under the door instead of knocking. 

Communicating this will help prevent conflicts at home and hopefully set clear work expectations. 

16. Align your skills with a WFH role

If your current job doesn’t let you work from home, consider exploring some roles that let you stay in your pajamas. There are a number of ways to work from home, so look for a position that matches up with your skill set. Some popular work from home jobs include: 

Blogger: One of the most popular and inexpensive work-from-home jobs, blogging truly offers the freedom to work whenever and wherever you want. However, you have to be patient, as it can take some time to build an audience and bring in revenue. 

Online educator: Online education provides an alternative for teachers who prefer to work in a virtual classroom. This profession ranges from tutors to K–12 and adult learning teachers. 

Virtual assistant: Virtual assistants handle administrative tasks like scheduling appointments and booking flights. Working largely behind the scenes, virtual assistants can perform their duties from the comfort of their homes. 

Transcriptionist : Transcriptionists transcribevoice recordings into writing. This job requires training and certification, as it demands precision and patience. 

Editor : Being an editor requires focus and precision. Editors are experts in refining written work so it reads well, speaks to the correct audience, and is free of grammatical errors. 

Website tester: Web testers gauge the performance and user experience of a website. If you have an eye for good web design and a background in computer science, you’ll likely be a good web tester. 

Bookkeeper: Bookkeepers manage financial documents and offer recommendations on spending trends. You don’t need a degree or certification to become a bookkeeper, as most gain experience and training on the job. 

Limit distractions

Support your remote team

Even if you can't see your teammates in person, you can still connect with them virtually. Here are some ways to stay in touch with your team and make sure they feel supported:

17. Recognize your team’s successes

It’s important to recognize and celebrate team members’ contributions so they feel valued and motivated. Whether it’s through an email or a public shout-out on chat or during a meeting, find ways to show your appreciation and support.

This type of recognition is also a way to model positive behavior and performance for other team members to follow.

18. Provide opportunities for team engagement

Working remotely can get lonely since it can be harder to connect with other team members. But it doesn’t have to be that way. To keep your team engaged, create opportunities for social interaction. 

Here are some ways to engage your team:

Do virtual team-building activities

Schedule social hours

Share some team motivational quotes

Connect through virtual lunches or coffee breaks

These activities not only help team members feel connected but are also good ways to strengthen team bonds, which improves cohesiveness and collaboration.  

Configure your remote collaboration tools

When working remotely, the number of emails you send and receive will likely go up, so you need to make sure you can access your work email from home. 

In addition to emails, every team uses different tools to collaborate. Your team should decide on what tools to use for messaging and video conferencing, as well as keeping track of projects. 

Agree on the remote collaboration tools your team needs and check that all your login credentials work ahead of time. Make sure you have solid Wi-Fi so you don’t risk losing your work or cutting out of meetings.

20. Implement a team collaboration tool

Managing remote teams requires a lot of flexibility when it comes to scheduling. You might have to learn how to use a new set of tools, embrace asynchronous communication , and get creative with problem-solving. 

It’s also beneficial to set up a centralized project management platform where you can plan and track your team’s projects and tasks. You can do this by building spreadsheets, creating shared folders for each project, or using project management software to automate processes. 

With a robust project management system setup, team members will be able to find the information they need and submit deliverables in one place, reducing the number of extra emails and meetings.

21. Schedule regular check-ins

Communication is key when it comes to collaboration, and even more so when working in remote teams. 

To maintain communication, schedule regular meetings with your direct reports, whether it’s daily, weekly, or every other day. By holding these check-ins, team members will be able to address things that are hard to convey over email or chat. You’ll also be able to get more detailed updates on how your teammates are doing. 

Here are some talking points you might want to include in the meeting agenda :

Get updates on current projects

Give feedback on past or current projects

Check on teammate’s overall well-being

Discuss upcoming projects 

Provide additional resources or training

These can help create a more productive and engaging meeting. 

Set communication guidelines

Prioritize your mental health

Remote work can pose challenges to our mental health—like unclear boundaries and a feeling of isolation. Here are some strategies to nurture your mental and physical well-being while working from home:

22. Reach out to other team members

The isolation of remote work can take a toll on our mental health. Having a network of people that you can reach out to can be immensely beneficial.

Find a work buddy that you can connect with and reach out to share challenges and successes, work- or non-work-related. That way, you can also continue to build work relationships even when you can’t meet each other in person. 

Additionally, bring up any concerns with your manager. They’ll be able to readjust your workload or provide mental health care resources as needed. 

If you need to rearrange your work hours or have questions about taking mental health days, reach out to your human resources team for support. 

23. Schedule time for yourself

Setting up a structured routine is important when balancing work and hobbies. How detailed you get with your plan is up to you, but in general, creating a rough schedule of daily tasks can be helpful to keep yourself accountable. 

It is especially important to make time for the things you love. It can be easy to make work your first priority, but penciling in time for yourself can decrease the likelihood of burnout in the long run. 

Your personal schedule could include tasks such as:

Take a 15-minute walk

Read a chapter of a book

Call a friend or family member

It’s a good feeling when you get to cross those activities off your list at the end of the day, and it can help fuel your passion for work the next day. 

24. Practice gratitude

Without face-to-face collaboration, it’s easy to feel like the work you’re doing is less personal, and therefore less important. 

When reviewing work or collaborating on a project, let your coworkers know that they’re doing a great job. A simple kudos or short message celebrating someone’s progress can go a long way. 

25. Be patient with yourself and those around you

This tip applies to both working parents and those without kids. Whether you have distractions around you or are merely distracting yourself, patience is key. 

You can only direct your attention to so many things at once, so at times you may need to ease up on rules. For instance, it’s OK to allow yourself to take incremental breaks. Just don’t drop the ball on work deliverables.

Balancing work, self-care, and relationships with those around you can be tough. Planning in advance is immensely helpful, but even so, unexpected things can always come up. Let your team know when that happens and figure out a backup plan. 

Above all, be patient with yourself. Accept the fact that some days will be better than others, since everyone needs time to adjust.

26. Maintain a consistent sleep schedule

As work hours become more flexible, it can be tempting to stay up later to watch Netflix or sleep in until noon. However, disrupting your circadian rhythm might leave you with varying energy levels or fatigue throughout the day.

It’s recommended that adults get seven or more hours of sleep each night. Stick to that rule of thumb so you’ll be able to feel your best at work and maximize your concentration.

27. Set work boundaries

When the boundaries are blurred between home and work life, it can feel more difficult to separate the two. In fact, 71% of workers experienced burnout in 2020. Plus, 87% of employees report working nearly two hours later every day.

To prevent burnout and achieve proper work-life balance, it’s crucial to set clear boundaries, which is where creating a schedule comes in handy. Define your work hours and when people can contact you. 

Once you’re done with your workday, leave everything work-related until the next day—even those emails that come in after work. Take time to focus on yourself, your hobbies, and your relationships. 

28. Take breaks from screens

Staring at a screen for hours on end and processing large amounts of information can be physically and mentally exhausting. 

Whenever you have a longer break, step away from the screen to give your eyes and your brain a rest.

Cut back on social media

Go on walks during breaks

Turn off work notifications until the next workday 

Put away your work equipment after work

A change in scenery can also help you get your creative juices flowing. 

29. Prioritize exercise

While working from home allows you to spend more time on the couch, it’s important to implement regular exercise into your schedule. 

Whether it’s a run before work or a walk during your lunch break, exercise gets your endorphins flowing and keeps your brain sharp throughout the day. Try starting your day with a workout or doing some midday yoga. See if these changes affect your productivity. 

30. Take time off

Just because you’re not going into an office every day doesn’t mean you don’t deserve time off. 

Time off is more important now than ever. With looser hours and fewer boundaries, it’s pivotal that you schedule time off and take mental health days. If you take a mental health day, try to stay active. You can do activities like:

Exercising 

Reading and writing

Meditating 

Catching up on tasks around the house 

Calling a family member or friend 

Doing one of your favorite hobbies 

Make sure your team is prioritizing time off and mental health days, even in the era of remote work. 

Boost your productivity at home

It takes some time to get the hang of balancing home and work life, whether you work at a startup or enterprise business. Stay flexible and communicate your needs with your team as you go.

Once you’re equipped with the right tools and home office setup , you’re ready to settle into remote and tackle working from home. Don’t forget, work-from-home jobs have their benefits, especially when you practice some of these remote work tips.

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How to Work Remotely

Where are the remote jobs, remote friendly firms, other remote opportunities, avoiding scams, tips for working remotely, the bottom line, the ultimate guide to working from home.

How to Work Remotely—for an Employer or Yourself

Even before the global pandemic of 2020 made working from home commonplace for millions, a growing number of employees had been saying goodbye to their onerous commutes. Thanks to ever-evolving technologies like Skype, FaceTime, Slack, Zoom, Google Hangouts, authenticator apps, and cloud computing —not to mention texting and email—it’s no longer necessary to be in an office full time to be a productive member of the team. Many types of work can be done just as effectively, if not more so, from a home office.

As appealing as remote work is to employees, employers also recognize the benefits from their side of the desk. Companies with work-from-anywhere policies can boost employee productivity, reduce turnover, and lower organizational costs, according to recent research at Harvard Business School.

Telecommuting workers with very complex jobs who don’t require a lot of collaboration or social support can perform better than their office-based counterparts. Also, in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, a distributed workforce is in a better position to keep operations running, even if some of the group goes offline.

Key Takeaways

  • For employers, working from home can boost productivity, reduce turnover, and lower organizational costs, while employees enjoy perks like flexibility and the lack of a commute.
  • To work effectively from home, you’ll need to make sure you have the technology that you require, a separate workspace, internet service that meets your needs, a workable schedule you can stick to, and ways to connect with others.
  • Top fields for remote work include information technology (IT) and healthcare.

Whether you’re working remotely a few days per week or full-time either by choice or because of a health situation or weather event, it’s essential to ensure that your setup meets your needs.

Having a designated workspace with the right technology, such as videoconferencing , child care arrangements, pet care, and a schedule that allows for the social contact and stimulation that ordinarily comes from being present in a workplace with others makes for a successful remote work experience. Here are strategies and tips for telecommuting.

1. Know the Ground Rules

Does your employer require a nine-to-five schedule, or is there flexibility? Your employer must ensure that you have the appropriate equipment, such as a laptop, network access, passcodes, and instructions for remote login, including two-factor authentication if necessary. Be sure to do a trial run and work out any problems that might impede your work.

2. Set up a Functional Workspace

Not everyone has a designated home office, but it’s critical to have a private, quiet space for your work. If you can, separate your work area from your personal spaces and use it only for work and not for other activities.

3. Get the Technology You Need

From laptops to software and internet speed, determine the technology tools will you need, including apps such as Zoom, Slack, or Microsoft Teams. Wondering if your most-used website is down? Check isitdownrightnow.com , which monitors key websites and services to see if they’re working.

4. Minimize Distractions

A barking dog may disappear with noise-canceling headphones and arranging your schedule around your family's schedule also helps to ensure you get the dedicated time you need for your work.

5. Get Outside

Some love the thought of working in solitude, but even the most introverted among us may feel claustrophobic after a few weeks at home alone. Schedule some time to connect to the outside world through lunch dates or an exercise class.

The percentage of professional jobs in North America that will be remote by the end of 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic led companies to evaluate remote and hybrid work options. This number is expected to increase in 2023.

Improved technology, low overhead costs, and the 2020 global pandemic have encouraged businesses of all sizes and in a variety of fields to create more work-from-home opportunities.

FlexJobs researches, vets, and posts remote, hybrid, and flexible jobs. Each year, the company compiles its list of the top 100 companies with the most remote job openings.

It also compiles a top 30 companies with zero location restrictions. In 2022, the list included a mix of industries, computer, IT, education, training, marketing, accounting, and finance.

58% of employees surveyed in 2021 said they would search for a new job if they can’t continue working from home post-pandemic according to FlexJobs. The survey caps talk of the Great Resignation . Keeping up the demand for remote opportunities and flexibility, here are five of the Top 10 companies with the most expected job openings in 2022:

• BroadPath. Industry: Outsourcing • Sykes. Industry: Customer Service

• SAP. Industry: Enterprise Software

• Varsity Tutors. Industry: Education

• Dell Technologies. Industry: Technology

While many employees now have the opportunity to work remotely for large corporations, telework options exist for freelancers and small business owners. As flexibility increases, many companies are outsourcing and turning to these independent contractors to fill a variety of positions.

Here are some of the most common, and fastest-growing, work-from-home options. Many are entry-level positions, while others require specialized training and expertise. 

Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistants offer traditional administrative tasks like email management, business document creation, client contact, appointment scheduling, social media updates, bookkeeping, and data entry.

Translators

Remote workers translate files and documents or transcribe and translate conversations and conference calls. People who speak uncommon languages are in high demand.

Customer Service Representatives

These remote workers juggle inbound and outbound calls and help customers with orders or account information and require good communication and people skills.

Data Entry and Transcription

Data entry involves entering facts and figures into a software program or spreadsheets such as payroll data, catalogs, or inventory items.

Transcription work involves creating documents from audio files, typically for businesses that need documentation of meetings, workshops, conference calls, or podcasts.

Project Management

The role of a project manager depends on the organization and its industry. An undergraduate degree in management is often required for project manager careers, but it is increasingly common for companies to require a master’s degree. There are also professional certifications for project managers. Some common job titles include program manager, business analyst, and technical consultant.

Do your research when applying for remote opportunities and get to know the employer. Be sure to investigate and test contact information using online sources like LinkedIn.

As with any opening, there should be an application and probably an interview. Anybody who is legitimately looking to hire someone wants to meet—or at least talk to—its applicants.

You shouldn’t incur any out-of-pocket expenses to be hired. If a work-from-home opportunity requires you to pay a fee upfront or buy a “start-up kit” or make any other sort of sizable cash outlay, it’s probably a scam.

Though the idea of flexibility, setting your hours, and operating within your own four walls has merit and benefits, it comes with a few drawbacks as well, for both the self-employed and the telecommuting employee. When it’s happening in the shadow of a national health emergency, like the pandemic of 2020, it can add an extra layer of discomfort and uncertainty. Here are three tips to help strike a healthy balance.

1. Stick to Your Work Schedule

Every person who has spent time working from a home base will have to deal with a lack of understanding from people who think working from home doesn’t mean working, although the pandemic has helped to change that dynamic. The burden is on you to set your working hours, stick to them, actually work during those hours, and refuse to let anyone else dissuade you from the idea that you’re truly employed.

Unfortunately, home life has its distractions that can burn precious daylight and put well-meaning homeworkers behind on important projects. In addition to the typical interruptions in the nine-to-five (vendor calls, power outages, accidents, pet or child needs), there are personal boundaries that will continue to be pushed.

Close family members have to understand that you can’t help them move during the workday or even chat on the phone for an hour. Setting limits if you have children at home can be especially tough. On the positive side, letting kids see you work hard at something you love—even at the parts that you don’t love—can greatly influence their future career choices and entire attitude toward work.

2. Beware of Workaholic Tendencies

Efficiency and flexibility are some of the top reasons why people want to work from home, along with shorter hours (what might you accomplish with eight straight hours of keyboard pounding, uninterrupted by emails or daily staff meetings?). But sometimes flexibility is too much of a good thing. When your office is always there, waiting, with that deadline looming over your head, it’s pretty hard to just close the door and pretend that you’ve left for the day. Many home-based workers find themselves working more hours, not fewer, logging in work time on nights and weekends, just because it’s there and they can’t ignore it.

Many work-at-home professionals indeed keep a five-hour day, as opposed to eight hours. However, this does not mean that they work less. Hours are often calculated as “billable hours,” meaning that for every hour spent performing a task for which they charge, there are many minutes spent doing uncompensated administrative tasks.

3. Don’t Bet on Saving Money

Without a daily commute, mandatory lunches, and the cost of office-appropriate attire, it may seem that working from home will peel some costs off your budget. But additional outlays can crop up. The expense of setting up an office may include laptops, printers, internet service, cellphones, business cards, web hosting, business services, and software. Forget about using your existing equipment for your business if you plan on taking the full cost of each as a tax write-off . Personal and business purchases need to be kept separate to comply with tax law.

For starters, you can only deduct for a home office if you are working freelance or as a contractor. Since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), you can no longer deduct non-reimbursed work expenses if you are an employee, including any home office deduction. That makes it especially important to try to get extra costs covered by your employer.

So, hold on before you try to deduct half of your mortgage for “office rent” or the entire cost of your internet. There are strict limits to what can be claimed as deductions or credits on your return. You can deduct valid work-related expenses, but only the percentage used for your work. So if you pay for an internet service that is also used by your spouse and children—and by you for non-work-related matters—you can’t deduct the full cost—only the (estimated) portion that is exclusive to employment-related matters. The same goes for office supplies, telephone bills, and utilities.

If you’re an independent contractor, you have to pay your own Social Security tax (the self-employment tax) and payroll taxes (an expense that most employers pay half of). You can deduct the employer half of your payroll tax as a business expense, but, generally, a sole proprietor won’t see drastic cuts to their tax bill.

Working from home can be exciting, empowering, and even profitable, provided that you are realistic about the pros and cons. Whether you are a freelancer, a company part-timer, or a full-time employee who just doesn’t hit the office on certain days or at all, it’s a way to escape the daily commuting grind.

But added responsibilities come with freedom, not to mention planning, foresight, self-discipline, and focus—and, yes, hours of uninterrupted hard work. As many home-based employees will tell you, it’s not easier to work from home; it’s just a different location.

Harvard Business School, Working Knowledge. “ How Companies Benefit When Employees Work Remotely .”

Journal of Business and Psychology, via Springer Link. “ Unpacking the Role of a Telecommuter’s Job in Their Performance: Examining Job Complexity, Problem Solving, Interdependence, and Social Support .”

Forbes. " Remote Work Is Here To Stay and Will Increase into 2023 ."

FlexJobs. “ Top 100 Companies to Watch for Remote Jobs in 2022 .”

Forbes. " Work Home or Anywhere ."

FlexJobs. “ 7 Fastest-Growing Remote Jobs to Watch for in 2022 .”

Internal Revenue Service. “ Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions .”

Internal Revenue Service. “ Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes) .”

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Work From Home Jobs Are in Demand and Often Pay More

Hal M. Bundrick, CFP®

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You want to work from home but make money like you've got an office job, right? Benefits, too. You're looking for the just-right balance of work-in-my-PJs freedom and financial perks. Here’s what to consider.

Work from home jobs often pay more

More than one-third (37%) of jobs in the U.S. can be performed entirely at home, according to a June 2020 study conducted by the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

These jobs typically pay more than those that can't be done at home and account for nearly half (46%) of all U.S. wages, the researchers report.

So it's more doable than ever if you know where to look, how to maintain your productivity and — if starting a work-from-home business — how to calculate a target profitability.

» MORE: The complete guide to personal finance

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Working from home jobs are growing

The likelihood of finding remote employment is growing because of the transition away from office environments that many companies made during the coronavirus pandemic.

Most employers (83%) say the shift to remote work has been successful for their company, according to a January 2021 PwC survey of companies well-suited for work-from-home employees.

With an at-home job , you may get to dress (a lot) more comfortably and keep little Nemo — your dog, cat, goldfish or whatever — on your lap, but there's more to consider than your wardrobe. Here’s how to get started.

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Working from home job ideas

If your current employer doesn't embrace a work-from-home staff, you may find a bridge to your next job — or even a new career — working the gig economy .

Flexible work from home jobs

Today's freelance job marketplace, as well as an expanding array of full-time contract work, can provide side-hustle money, part-time income or full-time work flexibility. Here are some ways to turn your skills into at-home work:

Rent out a spare room.

Perform duties as a virtual assistant .

Freelance for companies like Upwork and Fiverr.

Offer fitness training or personal improvement coaching.

Start a babysitting or pet walking service.

Launch a garden and yard maintenance or housecleaning business.

Sell stuff online

Maybe you found a product line or merchandise niche and don't mind spending nights and weekends packing and shipping. Or perhaps you've found a reliable dropshipper to supply and send out products for you.

It all started with eBay, the original mom-and-pop-to-consumers marketplace. But now there are many more choices: Amazon , Etsy , and even Facebook, as well as a multitude of open-your-own online store platforms.

Consider all of your online sales options and decide on one that’s best for you.

It helps to follow a personal passion, buy smart (and low) and sell at an ample profit. Popular items to sell online in 2022, according to e-commerce platform Shopify, include:

Books and e-books

Vinyl records and CDs.

Belt buckles.

False eyelash accessories.

Household cleaning supplies.

Of course, an online boutique selling your favorite, hand-selected style of clothing and accessories is always a favorite startup option.

Some of the most profitable current web stores include those selling health and beauty products; subscription services; and food and beverage businesses, Shopify says.

To get an idea of just how viable selling stuff online can be, do some quick calculations:

Find out what your inventory costs might be. Locate wholesale suppliers for the products you want to sell and multiply each item's cost by the number you want to stock.

Calculate your potential revenue by multiplying your sale price by the number of items you'll stock. A typical markup is twice the wholesale cost.

Consider additional costs such as website hosting (if you'll use your own website), advertising and marketing, taxes and payment processing, such as through PayPal or a merchant account .

Subtract the expenses totaled in No. 1 and No. 3 from No. 2 (revenue) for a rough idea of your projected profitability.

Become a social media influencer

Social media influencers are powering many work-from-home opportunities. Most of the money is made through product promotion of one kind or another. For example:

Sponsored posts on blogs .

Affiliate partnerships shown in images or with swipe-up posts on Instagram .

Podcasts featuring advertising or sponsor plugs.

How-to videos, product reviews, fashion hauls, interviews, comedy and a variety of other programming that simulates mainstream TV shows on YouTube .

Viewer donations and brand partnerships on video game platforms like Twitch .

In the earliest days of online promotion, a blog could feature content targeted to a specific topic and make a decent amount of cash simply by plugging in Google ads . That strategy has become more difficult over time as consumers have developed a tendency to ignore such traditional advertising or are deploying web browsers with ad blockers.

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Working from home tips

For those of us who initially set up working quarters on a side table in a bedroom or at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, long-term productivity will require some work-from-home essentials , such as:

A comfortable chair and sit-stand desk.

An external monitor to accompany your laptop .

A well-lit environment.

The ability to control or reduce noise.

Surroundings that are free from distractions.

Enough structure to your schedule to provide a transition from being at home to being at work.

Work from home job scams

When anything comes along as alluring as making a living while working from home, there are going to be scammers.

The Federal Trade Commission offers some big tipoffs that an opportunity you're considering may be on the shady side:

You have to pay money upfront to get the job, perhaps for training or materials.

The job offers high pay with extremely low effort.

Your employer issues you a check but asks you to use a portion of it for another purpose.

If you encounter any of these red flags, it's probably best to continue your work-from-home job hunt.

The Ultimate Guide to Working From Home (+ Remote Work Tips)

Published: December 28, 2023

Working from home is a gift, right up until the cat throws up on your computer. And your neighbor, who you can only assume is building a time machine, starts firing up all sorts of power tools. In those moments, remote work life feels more like a punishment than a miracle.

two people remote working from a trailer

Remote work poses different risks and benefits. Plus, the popularity of this working style has only grown.

In fact, when I began working remotely as a digital nomad in 2017, there was still professional pushback, skepticism, and a general dismissive attitude toward remote work. Since then, I’ve been remotely working abroad, and I’ve even published a book on the topic.

Download Now: How to Be More Productive at Work [Free Guide + Templates]

For me and many others, remote work isn’t a trend; this lifestyle is a long-term choice that allows us to get exactly what we want out of our careers. You may need some help greasing the wheels, but I’m determined to help you feel the same from your remote work lifestyle.

Not everyone transitions into remote work smoothly, and that’s okay. Let’s explore the remote work trends , tips, and techniques that can help you get the most out of your remote work.

Table of Contents

What Remote Work Looks Like Today [Data]

What is remote work.

  • Types Of Remote Work

How to Work From Home

  • 16 Working From Home Tips

Working remotely can take many different forms, but what does it look like for the “normal” remote worker?

From where remote workers work to how they’re getting dressed and how they interact with their team members , let’s see what the statistics say about remote workers today.

  • Of full-time employees surveyed in 2023, 12.7% are 100% remote ( WFH Research ).
  • Of full-time employees surveyed in 2023, 28% are in a hybrid remote work arrangement ( WFH Research ).
  • The number of reported days per week that employers allow their employees to work remotely peaked in 2022 and has declined in 2023 ( WFH Research ).
  • By 2024, the hybrid work model is expected to rise to 81% ( AT&T ).
  • Of remote workers surveyed, 98% would recommend remote work to others ( Buffer ).
  • Remote workers love the flexibility more than anything , with 22% of surveyed workers saying the flexibility in how they spend their time being the greatest benefit ( Buffer ).

And what does the data say about marketers who work remotely? These statistics are from HubSpot’s Marketing Work Culture Survey :

  • Of marketers surveyed, 31% work remotely.
  • Of marketers surveyed, 37% are hybrid employees , sometimes working remotely and sometimes working in the office.
  • Of marketers surveyed, 41% said that their company hosted virtual team-bonding activities in the past year, such as parties, celebrations, or games.
  • When asked about getting dressed for work , 13% of surveyed marketers said they wear an appropriate top for Zoom calls and remain in sweatpants since they’re off-screen in video calls.
  • Since the pandemic, 27% of surveyed marketers said that they feel more overworked , primarily due to heightened work responsibilities.
  • When asked about what led to conditions of overworking , 9% of surveyed marketers said that hybrid or remote work contributed because it made some team tasks more difficult.

Remote work is the act of doing your job in a separate location from your colleagues. Working remotely can also be referred to as telecommuting, working from home, working from anywhere, or location-independent work.

Remote working encompasses people who work from home and also digital nomads who work from Airbnbs or hotels around the world.

Some workers choose remote work to help meet their physical needs, mental health needs, or family demands. Other remote workers make this choice to increase freedom and flexibility.

Types of Remote Work

Today, remote workers all over the world will open their laptops in radically different work environments.

Some will do so from a home office, a hotel room, and an airplane 30,000 feet above the middle of nowhere. The remote environment can take almost any form.

When we look closely at the different types of remote work, two primary categories arise: working from home and working from anywhere .

Work From Home

Remote work is most commonly done from home . Remote workers who tune into work from home may do so from their beds, kitchen tables, or tailored home offices. The process can be as minimalistic or customized as you can imagine.

This type of work melds your personal space together with your workspace, making a healthy work-life balance difficult to achieve. Remote workers have to set ground rules to avoid both overworking and underworking.

There are many benefits to working from home, but it also has unique challenges. People who work from home have to remain productive yet still make time for regular breaks and time away from the computer screen.

The average worker invests a lot of time and thought into developing their most productive work zone and refining their work style. We’ll discuss common tips and best practices for working from home in a moment.

Work From Anywhere

Remote workers who work from anywhere have to manage their work-life balance the same as everyone else, but they do so while working from oftentimes exotic locations.

Work from anywhere workers may tune into work from their kitchen table, cafes, coworking spaces, local libraries, or Airbnbs across the world.

Remote workers who combine work with travel are called digital nomads , and they can be found working today all over the world.

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15 Work From Home Jobs That Are Hiring Now

The number of remote opportunities continues to increase.

Kenneth Terrell,

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If you’re looking for an opportunity to work remotely, there’s a good chance you can now find a job that fits your needs. According to a recent FlexJobs  study of job postings on their website, there was an 11 percent increase in the number of remote jobs in 2023 compared to the previous year.

Older adults could benefit directly from this boom in remote work. Their skills and experience give them the ability to operate effectively and independently outside the office. And the flexibility of working from home offers an appealing pathway toward eventual retirement.

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These 15 jobs are some of positions where the demand for remote workers is highest. Clicking on the job title will take you to a page on the AARP Job Board that shows postings for comparable positions. (Not all of these openings offer remote work opportunities.) Median pay data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Search for all available work from home jobs on the AARP Job Board .

1. Administrative Assistant

Who’s hiring:  H&R Block, Lockheed Martin, UpKeepl

Average pay:  $21.19 per hour

With many businesses switching to remote work during the pandemic, “virtual assistants” have seen an explosion in demand recently. In addition to the positions listed on the AARP Job Board, you can also find gig work as an administrative assistant through sites such as Upwork and FlexJobs, though some of these portals charge fees to use their services.

2.  Consultant

Who’s hiring:  Baylor Scott White Health, United Health Group

Average median pay:  $45.81 per hour

In addition to offering remote work opportunities, consulting also can serve as a convenient way to transition into retirement. In addition to the positions posted on the AARP Job Board, you also might consider asking your current or former employers whether they might be interested is hiring you as a consultant for various projects.

3.  Customer Service Representative

Who’s hiring:  Dish Network, FedPoint, Love's Travel Stops & Country Store

Median pay:  $18.16 per hour

If you’ve ever called a company for help with a product or service you purchased, then you understand what these jobs involve. You’ll need good people skills to help customers get the solutions they’re seeking. And the hours often are quite flexible to enable phone lines to be staffed across different time zones.

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4.  Data Entry Clerk

Who’s hiring:  McKees Rock PA, TowardJobs Staffing, xBrain

Average pay:  $18.26 per hour

This job is a natural fit for remote work because the responsibilities mostly involve typing information from various documents into a company’s computer system. Accuracy and an eye for detail are essential to doing well in this field.

5.  Digital Marketing Specialist

Who’s hiring:  Sodexo, United Health Group

Average pay:  $32.80 per hour

The internet is how many businesses find new customers now, and these specialists are the experts who make those connections happen. Job responsibilities include creating internet advertisements, direct emails, newsletters and other digital tools to keep clients interested in what the company has to offer.

6.  Occupational Therapist

Who’s hiring:  Baylor Scott White Health, Lehigh Valley Health Network Lehigh

Average pay : $44.80 per hour

When people who are recovering from injuries or managing disabilities need assistance learning to perform daily physical activities, occupational therapists lend a helping hand. Many types of health care moved online during the pandemic, and so did the work-from-home opportunities for occupational therapists. Many of these jobs do require state licenses.

7.  Proofreader

Who’s hiring:  Sodexo, TalentBurst

Average pay:  $21.83 per hour

If you’re the type of person who notices spelling errors when you’re reading books or articles, this role could be a good fit for you. For example, Abuse Refuge Org, a nonprofit that aids survivors of physical, sexual, spousal, and other types of abuse, is seeking a proofreader who can make sure that their articles and social media posts include accurate information and are easy to read.

8.  Registered Nurse

Who’s hiring:  Central California Alliance for Health, McLaren Integrated HMO Group, VITAS Healthcare

Average pay:  $39.05 per hour

Demand is almost always high for these professionals, with the BLS projecting there will be 194,500 jobs created in this field each year. And, in the era of telehealth, many of these nurses will be able to work from home.

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9.  Sales Representative

Who’s hiring:  Advance Auto Parts, AT&T, United Health Group

Average pay:  $32.57 per hour

Why be a traveling salesperson when you often could do the job just as well through Zoom or Webex? The essential skills and experience remain the same: building a client base, convincing them of the product’s value, providing customer service.

10.  Social Media Specialist

Who’s hiring:  Marriott International, Petco, Teleperformance

Average pay:  $27.29 per hour

Here’s an opportunity to turn your finesse with making TikTok videos and viral tweets into a successful career. By designing a variety of social media posts, these specialists help businesses build their online personalities.

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11. Software Developer

Who’s hiring:  General Dynamics, Insight Global, Motion Recruitment

Average pay:  $59.71 per hour

The long-term prospects for this career are promising, with the BLS projecting that demand for these workers will increase by 25 percent over the next eight years. Wages are also high: These information technology experts earn the highest hourly pay on this list.

12.  Speech Pathologist

Who’s hiring:  SLP-tele, Enablr Therapy, Connected Teletherapy

pay:  $40.45 per hour

Speech pathologists help people with communication disorders understand why they have difficulty pronouncing certain words. Once the problem has been identified, the pathologist then helps those individuals learn how to speak more clearly. Doing the job from home opens opportunities to work with clients in different parts of the nation, but you may need to be licensed in the states where you and your clients live.

13.  Technical Writer

Who’s hiring:  First American Financial Corporation, Insight Global, Latitude

Average pay:  $38.44 per hour

If you have a talent for understanding how technologies work and explaining that clearly, technical writing is a field with many job opportunities. For example, Insight Global—an information technology contractor with with government clients—is looking for writers to help create proposals for federal projects.

Who’s hiring:  Preply, Tutor Me Education, Vivvi Early Learning Me Educatio

pay:  $17.63 per hour

Tutoring is one career that translates well to the video-conferencing era. Depending on your area of professional or personal expertise, there could be a remote job in this field that’s a perfect match. Companies are seeking tutors in such fields as English, foreign languages, and graphic design.

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15.   Web Developer

Who’s hiring:  ACL Digital, Nintendo of America, Villanova University

Average pay:  $38.81 per hour$8.81

This is another field where the BLS projects the demand for workers will increase (17,900 additional jobs per year). The work can be challenging because internet technologies are upgraded frequently. For that reason, it’s handy to have a mix of strong technical skills and creative problem-solving ability.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this article was published on April 21, 2021. It has been replaced with a newer version containing updated information.

Kenneth Terrell covers employment, age discrimination, work and jobs, careers, and the federal government for AARP. He previously worked for the Education Writers Association and  U.S. News & World Report , where he reported on government and politics, business, education, science and technology, and lifestyle news.

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8 Tips for Working from Home Effectively

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  • 12 Mar 2020

Organizations are continuing to find ways to protect workers from the threat of coronavirus (COVID-19) . Many businesses are encouraging employees to work from home to try ebbing the spread of germs and keep staff safe.

Prior to the global health crisis, remote work was more common than ever, with 43 percent of Americans working from home at least occasionally, according to Gallup . A recent survey by PwC found that even after COVID-19 is no longer a concern, 55 percent of executives anticipate most of their employees will work from home at least one day per week.

That may sound like a dream for those with a long commute or for people who crave a more flexible schedule, but if you’re not used to it, it could be daunting—and it may take time to adjust.

Are you concerned you'll have trouble staying focused or worried you'll miss out on team collaboration and regular interaction with your colleagues? To help you make a smooth transition and stay engaged, here are eight steps you can take to start working from home more effectively.

How to Work from Home

1. create a dedicated space.

One of the most important ways to make sure your time at home is productive is to create a defined space that can serve as your office. In an ideal world, you’ll have a spare or guest room that can double as a home office, but even a small corner of your kitchen table will suffice.

Once you identify the space, turn it into a work-like environment. Proper furniture and lighting can make a difference. A desk and office chair are optimal, but any table or counter will work—especially temporarily. If work-from-home is more than just a passing phase, you might want to invest in actual office furniture. No matter what, working from a bed or couch—which you likely equate with relaxation and leisure—could be a productivity killer.

Related: Are Online Classes Worth It? 12 Pros & Cons of Online Learning

2. Have the Proper Technology

If your work computer is a laptop, it should be easy enough to get up-and-running. Yet if you’re typically on your computer all day, you may want to invest in an additional monitor and keyboard. Your employer may supply or cover the cost of necessary equipment, but if it’s your choice to work from home, you might have to pay for it yourself.

Other equipment and technology to consider:

  • High-speed internet access
  • Landline for dependable phone connections
  • Camera for FaceTime, Skype, or Zoom meetings

3. Establish Firm Office Hours and Set Boundaries

It can be easy for people who work from home to get distracted and start tidying around the house or surfing social media. To make sure you stay on task, establish firm office hours and do your best to stick to a defined schedule.

It’s a good idea to set ground rules for other people in your household and make it clear that just because you’re home doesn’t mean you’re free to run errands or provide rides.

One potential pitfall of working from home is allowing your work time to bleed into home time. By setting specific work hours and making a point to shut down at night, you’ll be fresh and ready for the next day.

4. Dress for Work

One trick for getting in the right mindset for at-home work is to groom and dress as if you’re going to the office. It may be tempting to skip a shower or stay in your pajamas, but that’s ill-advised.

“If you’re dressed for bed, your brain will think it’s bedtime,” writes The Guardian's fashion expert Hadley Freeman . “Putting on a suit or smart dress gets them...in the work mindset. I have a friend who likes to work from home in party dresses, as they make her feel like she is a) on it and b) having fun, even though she is sitting in her living room and knocking out more advertising copy.”

A party dress may be taking it too far, but, by waking up, eating breakfast, and getting dressed, it may be easier to transition into a work state of mind.

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5. Make “Work” Friends

One possible loss you may experience when you start working from home is collaboration, teamwork, or, simply, human contact. As you’re adjusting, schedule meetings with colleagues to brainstorm or just catch up by phone or FaceTime.

Some remote workers enjoy spending their time at a local coffee shop or library, simply to have contact with other people. You could reach out to neighbors who work from home and meet for coffee to get the social time you may miss from being in the office.

6. Stay Connected with Your Team

While it’s important to maintain a healthy social life in general while working from home, it’s also important to stay connected with your team.

If you’re in a supervisory role, you may be facing new challenges when it comes to managing remote employees . With a dispersed team, it can be difficult to encourage collaboration, foster engagement , and ensure productivity. Keep the line of communication open between yourself and your teammates throughout the workday so you can effectively work together toward common goals.

As an individual contributor, it’s also important to regularly communicate with your boss and coworkers to keep progress flowing smoothly. Using an instant messenger like Microsoft Teams or Slack can help you stay in touch throughout the day.

7. Limit Distractions

Working from home can bring multiple distractions that you don’t typically encounter in an office setting. It may be tempting to leave the television on in the background or wash a load of laundry while you’re on the clock, but doing so can hinder your productivity.

Take steps to limit distractions and create an effective work environment. Remember that the added comfort of telecommuting shouldn’t come as a sacrifice to your job performance.

8. Coordinate with Others in the Home

If your household has more than one person working from home, it’s important to be respectful of each other.

Coordinating schedules ahead of a busy day can help you avoid disruptions and unnecessary stress in your relationships. If you know you have video calls throughout the day, for example, let others know in advance so they can plan ahead. If you expect others to be quiet while you’re working, be sure to return the courtesy when they have meetings.

Related: How to Work from Home When Your Kids Are Home, Too

Working from Home Effectively

There are many benefits to working from home, like less time sitting and more time for exercise or spending time with loved ones. With a bit of planning, and by following these simple steps, you should be able to be productive and focused while working from home and have more time for things you enjoy.

If you find you have extra time that you might otherwise have spent commuting, consider sharpening your skills by downloading our free business essentials e-book and taking an online course. Check out our course catalog for a variety of engaging and interactive courses on business fundamentals.

This post was updated on September 4, 2020. It was originally published on March 12, 2020.

home working for

About the Author

How to work from home: everything you need for remote working

Our guide to everything you need to make working from home a breeze, including the mouse, monitor, keyboard and router for you

Home Office Covid-19

The best mouse for working from home

The best keyboard for working from home, the best monitor for working from home, the best webcam for working from home, the best printer for working from home, the best laptop for working from home, the best network extender for working from home, best office setup for working from home, best software for working from home.

With many of us around the world continuing to work from home in 2021, you may be looking at exactly what hardware you'll need to be productive, and where to start.

In this guide, we'll walk you through all the essential kit you need to work from home successfully, as well as giving you tips and tricks on working remotely.

The need for the right equipment to make sure you're productive and happy is higher than ever given recent news, and it's not just a case of making sure you have the best laptop for working from home or a smartphone to stay in contact with your bosses, co-workers, family and friends (although this is still important) but also the multitude of other items and services that will make working from home a breeze.

If this all seems a bit overwhelming, and you don't know where to start, never fear - here's our guide to everything you need to know about the tech needed to be working from home.

If you left your trusty mouse in the office and are feeling a little disconnected, don't worry, as a new desk buddy can be yours with our best mouse and best wireless mouse guides.

Picking the best mouse for your needs when working from home is important, as it's one of the most common ways of interacting with your PC or laptop.

You can spend hours using your mouse when working from home, so you need to make sure you have one that's comfortable to hold, as well as being fast and responsive. Even if you have a laptop with a touchpad, you may find getting a mouse will make things more comfortable.

Microsoft Classic IntelliMouse

Specifications, reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

While it seems like all of our peripherals are either being fitted with unnecessary lighting or morphed into odd shapes, there are still some mice out there that you can take seriously from looks alone. 

The Microsoft Classic Intellimouse, for example, touts a classic design and appealing white lighting, and it is a breath of fresh air. It also beefs up the sensor, allowing users to ramp up the DPI to 3,200. It’s not wireless, and it’s hardly made for gaming, but if you’re in the market for a mouse that’ll help you get all your work done when working from home, the Microsoft Classic Intellimouse will be the best mouse for you.  

As with mice, having the best keyboard for working from home is also important. You'll want something nice and comfortable, as again, you'll be using it for long periods of time.

If you're looking for an external keyboard to give you a bit more flexibility, our best keyboards guide is here for you. We've also got our guide for the best gaming keyboard , if you're looking for something that can keep up with best AAA games as well as your productivity needs.

Logitech K780

With its latest keyboard, Logitech is targeting smartphone and tablet owners who prefer to use their device while sat at a desk. And, if you were a fan of the predecessor, the K380, the Logitech K780 should be right up your alley, especially with its added number pad. 

This keyboard still has the ability to pair with three devices using Bluetooth or wireless, so you can swap between all your gadgets on the fly. And, thanks to its comfortable rounded keycaps, it’s still a pleasure to type on. The keyboard’s base is the star of the show, however, as it can hold mobile devices up to 11.3mm thick in an upright position. This places them within arms’ reach to make anything from replying to WhatsApp messages or reading a digital magazine easier than ever. 

If you're one of the lucky few who enjoys a multiple-monitor set-up in the office, you may be feeling a little short-changed in home working from home has minimised your screen options. 

Luckily, adding an extra monitor is easier than ever these days, particularly if you have a docking station alongside your work laptop. Most external monitors can now be connected via HDMI, USB-C or DP ports, so if you're looking for an extra bit of screen space, check out our list of the best business monitors .

BenQ GW2270H

Again, if you've just started working from home, then you don't want to spend loads of money on a monitor. Instead, you'll want something that's affordable, yet allows you to work comfortably from home.

That's why we think the BenQ GW2270H is the best monitor for working from home. It offers the most affordable full HD monitor with an HDMI connector, and it's small and stylish that means it'll fit nicely into your home.

It has some standout features as well, to ensure you're comfortable while working from home ; one that reduces flicker (PWM technology) and a low blue light mode which may help with headaches and sleeping disorders. The stand design gives it a more expensive feel and its three ports (including two HDMI ones) are worthy of a mention, as is the two-year warranty and the VESA wall mounting option.

When working from home, you'll probably find you're holding just as many meetings – if not more – via video conferencing services like Skype and Google Hangouts. With these meetings, it's important to have a good quality webcam. Working from home can sometimes feel a little isolating, and video conferencing can give you some much needed human interaction.

While laptops usually come with webcams built-in, if you're using a desktop PC, you'll want to invest in the best webcam you can. Laptop owners may also want to buy a standalone webcam, as the one included in their machines might not be up to scratch, so let our best webcams guide help you out there.

Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000

The Microsoft LifeCam Studio is one of the best webcams out there, and ideal for home working. Aimed at pro users with large displays, it features a familiar configuration of 1080p recording and 720p live video calling. It rotates 360 degrees, and can be mounted on a tripod with autofocus. 

The wideband mic delivers crystal clear audio, and Microsoft’s TrueColor system will shift the exposure dynamically to keep you well lit, making it a great choice for business conferencing and presentations.

If you're now working from home, one of the devices you may find you miss the most is the office printer. They're not the most glamorous of devices, but if you need to print off documents or labels, you'll soon get frustrated if you don't have a printer.

The good news is that you don't need to spend a lot of money on a great printer for day-to-day work. We've listed the best value printer below, and make sure you check out our guide to the best printers for more buying advice.

HP Deskjet 2622

HP offers plenty of choice when it comes to all-in-one printers at this budget end of the market and this glossy white model is one of the cheapest. Nonetheless, it can print, scan and copy and offers both Wi-Fi and USB connectivity. There’s no auto duplex mode and printing is rather slow, but the design is quite compact and practical. Like some other low-cost inkjets, the three coloured inks are combined in the same cartridge, which is a slight disadvantage, but the black is a pigment ink which means more durable black and white printed pages. 

If you're really serious about getting the best working from home setup, then you may find you want to purchase a new laptop. After all, if you're using it all day, every day, then you'll want something that is powerful, dependable and comfortable to use.

Our best laptops for working from home guide will highlight some of the top devices you can buy right now, but when it comes to working from home we thing the laptop below is the best choice.

Acer Swift 3

Beyond the Acer Swift 3's modest exterior, you'll find an excellent laptop that boasts plenty of power for working from home. The Swift 3 is an inexpensive laptop; however, that plain chassis is all-aluminum and packed with beefy components. 

In terms of performance, it gets surprisingly close to the far more expensive Microsoft Surface Laptop. Its display is a little lower-res, but the two are otherwise strikingly similar - other than the price. 

This laptop is incredible to use as well, with its roomy trackpad as well as its backlit keyboard that offers a comfortable typing experience with decent travel. If you're going to be writing a lot as part of your day-to-day life working from home, this is a great choice.

If your home office is a bit too far away from your home router, you might benefit from a Wi-Fi extender, which can boost the signal across the rest of your house. We've selected the options of the best Wi-Fi extenders here.

These are important as when working from home, your internet connection is essential. If you struggle to get a dependable network connection where you work, then you'll soon get very frustrated. A Wi-Fi extender, or using any of the best powerline adapters , is an easy way to fix this.

  • Or get one of the best wireless routers instead.

Netgear AC1200 WiFi Range Extender EX6150

Over the last couple years, Netgear has essentially turned itself into a household name in the networking world. And, they’ve put their extensive expertise to impressive use with their AC1200 Wi-Fi Range Extender EX6150.

This terrific extender is a simple device that you can discreetly plug right into any electrical outlet, and definitely has our vote for one of the best Wi-Fi extenders. As an additional bonus, the EX6150 boasts quick and easy installation, free of any hassling installation software. Just follow the easy-to-read instructions and you’ll have fast and dependable Wi-Fi covering your entire home or office.

It may sound obvious, but having the right office set-up can make all the difference to your working from home productivity - and this can start with your chair and desk.

Making sure you're comfortable whilst your work isn't just a good idea for your fitness and general well-being, but will also make it less of a chore to sign in every morning - and help you stave off the temptation to slope off to the sofa after lunchtime.

We've rounded up our choice of the best office chairs in our guide, focusing on ergonomic desk chairs that should ensure you don't end up with cramps or strains - and a list of the best standing desks for those looking for something a bit different.

IKEA Markus

For those whose wallets are cowering at the price of some of the more expensive ergonomic chairs out there, IKEA’s Markus is doubtless a welcome spot of fiscal relief.

Unsurprisingly, you don’t get much in the way of fancy adjustments, but this is a sturdy chair which is well liked by many people, and offers a comfortable upright sitting position, with a long back and integrated headrest. The back is made of a mesh material to let the air through and provide better breathability.

There are some adjustments available to the user: you can adjust the seat for height, tilt, and the back can be locked in place, or it can be reclined. Other than that, this is a fairly basic chair, but well-made for the money – it costs a fraction of some of the higher-end seating options.

An unexpected bonus in this price bracket (around the £150 mark – that’s about $190) is that the Markus comes with an impressive 10-year guarantee.

  • You can buy the Markus at IKEA

If you're feeling particularly active, and missing those lunchtime gym sessions, there's also the option of a standing desk, which can help bring a bit of variation into your new home office set-up. 

FlexiSpot ClassicRiser Standing Desk Converter

If you're working from home and don't want to spend a huge amount of money on a standing desk, then check out the FlexiSpot ClassicRiser . This is a manually adjustable model, which is obviously where a lot of the cost-savings come into play, but it’s still a nifty solution nonetheless, despite being considerably cheaper.

The ClassicRiser is easy enough to operate when raising or lowering the platform, which is achieved with a light squeeze on a lever at the side, and like the Uplift, it has a wide keyboard tray below the main platform (although this is removable).

You can select from different-sized platforms from the smallest 27-inch (M1) offering up to 47-inches (M3), with a range of various options available including monitor arms, anti-fatigue mats, and indeed an under-desk exercise bike. The M1 model is unsurprisingly the cheapest, but it doesn’t cost much more to ramp up the size to an M3.

Once your new hardware is all sorted, now it's time to make sure that you have all the right software and services to make working from home a breeze.

Many of you will have already been set up with online office suites, collaboration tools, videoconferencing software and the like, but for anyone working from home for the first time, you may be missing some crucial options - so here's our guide to the software you can't be without.

GoToMeeting

With employees around the world all now working from home, staying in touch is paramount to ensure all the usual company work gets done effectively and on time. With face-to-face meetings off the table, videoconferencing is now the best bet to help you all stay up to speed.

There are a number of popular tools out there today - and many of us will have used the likes of Zoom, Skype for Business or Google Meet already. But new measures may call for new tactics, so if you need a run-down of the best video conferencing software out there today.

Microsoft Office 365

It isn't just meetings that need rescheduling - everyday messaging and contact also needs a working from home makeover. Now we can't just walk over to somebody's desk to get an update or have a chat, the need for real-time collaboration tools is key. 

The likes of Slack and Asana are already popular choices, but if you want more options, check out our guide to the best online collaboration tools around.

Lastly, keeping track of all your projects is again trickier without face-to-face interaction, but luckily there are a raft of options available to help ameliorate this. 

Our best project management software guide has all the tools and services you need to keep your team up to speed with progress.

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Mike Moore

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.

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Amazon Work From Home Jobs

Amazon work from home jobs.

Work from home

It’s been over two years since many of us started working from home due to the pandemic, and if you haven’t yet adjusted your workspace to accommodate your needs, then it’s probably time to get to it.

Whether you’ve set yourself up in the guest bedroom, on your living room couch, or in a walk-in closet, you may need a little extra effort to make it possible to type comfortably, meet online, or just concentrate. Sometimes it means buying a new desk, lamp, or monitor; sometimes, it just means finding a household item that will make life a little easier.

We asked the staff of The Verge what they’ve been using to make their work-at-home situations more practical, more pleasant, or simply more possible. Here are some of the answers we got.

Tech products

Apple airpods pro.

Apple AirPods Pro

I basically live in my AirPods Pro during the day. They let me listen to music, catch Slack pings, and take calls, all with the added benefit of some noise cancellation to help drown out outside noise. Their range is also great for my apartment — I can be anywhere in the house without losing connection to my computer, which is really nice if I need to step away from my desk to, say, microwave my second cookie of the afternoon. — Jay Peters, news writer

The AirPods Pro, the best wireless earbuds for people who use Apple products, pictured next to an iPhone 11 Pro Max and MacBook Pro.

AirPods Pro (first-gen) with MagSafe charging case

The last-gen AirPods Pro improve upon the regular AirPods with better sound quality, excellent active noise cancellation, and immersive spatial audio.

Phone as webcam

Nexus 6p

Webcams are no longer a struggle to find in 2022, but if you want to save money, turning your phone into a fully functional webcam is surprisingly easy, cost-effective, and can yield good results. I already had a  Nexus 6P  sitting around, and  with these steps  that work on most Android and iOS devices, I now have a phone-meets-webcam. It’s got picture quality roughly on par with a standalone webcam, which might cost you around $100. If you want a stand that can angle it during calls, I’d suggest picking up one of  these Joby GorillaPod tripods  that includes a phone clip. — Cameron Faulkner, reviewer

Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand Pro

A handy tripod for your mobile device that includes a phone clip.

Satechi Aluminum Multi-Port Adapter V2

Satechi Aluminum Multi-Port Adapter V2

While I’m working off a MacBook, this Satechi hub has been a lifesaver for plugging in podcasting mics and any other gear I’m suddenly using on my own. — Adi Robertson, senior reporter

Rechargeable batteries

Eneloop batteries

I go through tons of batteries with my flash when photographing at home, and I find that these rechargeable batteries last so much longer than regular single-use batteries. Not only do they save me trips to the store and keep more batteries out of the landfills, but they also save me money in the end. — Amelia Holowaty Krales, senior photo editor

Panasonic AA NiMH 2,550mAh rechargeable batteries

Caldigit ts3 plus thunderbolt 3 dock  .

CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock

This Thunderbolt 3 dock lets me switch my whole desk setup (keyboard, mouse, speakers, ethernet, display, external storage drives, and microphone) from one computer to another by just moving one cable. I plug all of my peripherals into the dock and then just use the one Thunderbolt cable to hook up my Mac or whatever Windows machine I need to test at the moment. It also has a very useful high-speed SD card slot on the front, which is great for whenever I need to dump images from my camera onto my computer. [Note: the CalDigit TS3 Plus is no longer available; it’s been replaced by the TS4.] — Dan Seifert, deputy editor

home working for

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock

The CalDigit TS4 is the king of Thunderbolt docks. The 98-watt dock features a whopping 18 ports, including eight USB ports, and is compatible with a wide range of PCs, phones, and tablets.

Google Nest Wifi router

Google Home device on a side table.

Last year, I installed a Google Nest Wifi router with a mesh point. I’ve had a lot of networking equipment over the years, and this was immediately the best. And it was extremely easy to set up. A year later, my system with one router and three points is still going strong. — TC Sottek, executive editor

home working for

Google Nest Wifi bundle

Google’s Nest Wifi router and Point extender have an unassuming design. The router has two ethernet ports, while the Point can be used as a smart speaker.

  Ultrawide monitor

home working for

An ultrawide monitor is the best purchase I ever made for working from home. It’s so big I have to physically lean from side to side to see it all. I can have three full-size windows up at the same time or countless windows overlapping. (Right now, I have nine different windows open, and it doesn’t feel cramped at all.) Mine is an old LG 34UM94-P that they don’t make anymore — it looks like there is an updated version, the LG 34WN80C-B. However, any monitor that is at least 34 inches in size with 1440p or better resolution is what I recommend. — Dan Seifert

LG 34WN80C-B 34-inch WQHD IPS display

Home office helpers, fully jarvis bamboo standing desk.

Fully Jarvis bamboo standing desk

We heard from two staffers about this desk:

I love my Jarvis desk from Fully. It’s a solidly built desk that looks great in my office, and it’s really handy to have the option to sit or stand while working. If you’re considering one, I highly recommend spending the extra cash for the extended-range height, which lets the desk get lower for sitting and higher for standing, and the programmable height switcher, which lets you preset heights that you can switch back and forth to just by pressing a button.

I also sprang for the $29 casters so I could wheel the desk around my apartment, which lets my wife and I use it as a mobile entertainment system. When we’re done working for the day, we can roll the desk over to our comfy chairs and watch Netflix or play Animal Crossing on the desk’s monitor. — Jay Peters

I have the Jarvis, too, just in a larger size. It has served me well for about four years now. It’s a comfortable, stable, spacious desk that has more versatility than typical desk options. — Dan Seifert

Fully Jarvis bamboo standing desk

Fully Jarvis Bamboo Standing Desk

This popular standing desk quickly and quietly adjusts from a top height of 50 inches to a level low enough for you to sit on the floor.

LapGear designer lap desk

LapGear designer lap desk

I should work at a desk more, but I spend a lot of time working from a couch. It’s bad for me, but also very comfortable. Using a lap desk like this one helps me at least pretend to be a little more conscientious about my posture; plus, it’s helpful for writing on physical paper (or when my laptop gets too hot). — Chaim Gartenberg, senior reporter

Huanuo monitor mount stand

Huanuo monitor mount stand

This monitor mount brings my screen up to a nice height so that I don’t hunch over, and it’s the tallest one I’ve found. Other monitor arms I tried just weren’t tall enough for me when I was standing while working — and I’m not that tall at 5 feet, 11 inches. The mount also lets me adjust my monitor to exactly the right height for movies or Animal Crossing when I’m using my desk as a mobile entertainment center. (Note: This monitor mount is no longer available; however, there is a similar model.) — Jay Peters

Nespresso Inissia espresso machine

Nespresso Inissia espresso machine

I’m hopelessly addicted to iced lattes, and I finally invested in this espresso machine with my stimulus check. It makes waking up in the morning a little more exciting when I don’t have to French press my coffee. And it came with a milk frother! — Makena Kelly, reporter

Ello Devon glass tumbler

Ello Devon glass tumbler

I never drink enough water. I just seem to forget to, and I get headaches from dehydration, but something about this bottle helps remind me. Maybe it’s the design? I love it! — Amelia Holowaty Krales

Herman Miller Sayl chair

Herman Miller Sayl chair

The desk chair that I use is the Herman Miller Sayl, which used to sell for around $500 — the low end of that company’s lineup, believe it or not. I almost purchased this chair in mid-2020 when the chair I had was really causing me physical anguish, but Vox Media allowed me to borrow it from our NYC office. So I immediately drove there, stuffed it into my car, and brought it home. My cats and I really like it. (Note: The chair now costs over $900, but you can still get it for around $600 if you eliminate several of the adjustable features.) — Cameron Faulkner

Notebook and pen

True Writer Classic Sea Glass ballpoint pen

While all of my work and most of my writing happen on my computer, sometimes it’s easier (especially for sudden phone calls or when I don’t want to switch out of a video) to simply turn to the notebook I keep next to my laptop and jot down a note or two. And I’ve found that using a classy pen is not only good for my morale but makes it a lot less likely that I’ll find myself out of ink (or with a hand cramp) when I need to get something important written quickly. Currently, I’m using a True Writer ballpoint pen from Levenger that I got as a birthday present, but any pen that makes you feel good will do. — Barbara Krasnoff, reviews editor

True Writer Classic Sea Glass ballpoint pen

Update May 16th, 2022, 5:30PM ET: This article was originally published on April 28th, 2020, and has been updated several times to include changes in prices and add some new models.

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Working from home: what it means to work from a home office

Working from home: what it means to work from a home office

Working in your pajamas? Enjoying the comforts of your home? No annoying colleagues around you? For many, setting up an office at home is tempting – but do you actually know what it entails? As fantastic as the working conditions sound: working from home doesn't just come with benefits. When you switch from your familiar office environment to a workplace at home, there are a few rules you need to follow to make sure your work at home is as good as possible.

What is a home office?

Free working from home whitepaper, free whitepaper, who can set up an office at home, what should you consider when working from home, working from home: pros and cons.

When we speak of a home office, we speak of employees – or freelancers – that move their workplace home. So, instead of sitting in an office with colleagues, you set up your workplace at home but still do the same work. Working remotely, therefore, has parallels to co-working, but differs from it quite considerably. Even in a co-working space, you are not in a familiar office environment, but you share the space with other workers – and you are not in your own home .

Working from home refers to an office at home. In most cases, the term refers to the workplace of an employee who previously worked in a traditional office. More and more frequently, though, the offices of freelancers and self-employed individuals in their private homes are also being included under the term. For working at home to be successful, certain minimum technical requirements must be met – for example, an internet connection is usually a prerequisite.

The home office can be regarded as a special kind of mobile office or remote work due to the setting where you perform your work. If the technical conditions are right, an employee can theoretically get their work done from anywhere in the world, as long as a stable internet connection is in place. This is why working from home in the United States is also known as telecommuting, because work is done via telecommunications, including the internet.

Do you have any further questions about working from home? Our free working from home whitepaper provides you with all the answers in a PDF file you can download

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Working from home during the coronavirus shutdown: How to handle working remotely

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Everyone is talking about working remotely, but for a large part of the population this way of working is out of the question: Professionals who work as craftsmen, in care, catering, or the hotel industry, for example, understandably have to be on site at their usual places of work despite the digital revolution. However, the majority of office work , i.e. activities that are mainly done on a PC, can theoretically be moved to the home.

But even in the fields of work that are actually predestined for the home office, it’s only true to a limited extent. Especially with regard to clients , in-person communication is of utmost importance. Physical meetings between colleagues also play a major role in many companies. Video conferencing is an important tool in the home office, but the importance of personal contact between colleagues and with customers should not be underestimated. Therefore, in many cases an alternating system is maintained: While some days are spent working from home, others are spent in the office or with clients.

Employees, employers, but also self-employed individuals have to pay attention to some aspects when setting up and running a home office. Some of these aspects are labor law or occupational health and safety laws. How to set up insurance in the home office and how to deduct the home office for taxes play a major role. On the other hand, one should also get used to certain behaviors so that working from home has advantages for all sides.

For many, the most important thing to know is that there is neither a general right to work remotely nor an obligation to move one’s work home. It always depends on the agreement between employer and employee . Self-employed individuals are understandably responsible for where they carry out their work. However, once you’ve decided to work from home and all legal aspects have been considered, further precautions must be taken. When first setting up the home office , for example, technical conditions must be clarified. Every employee must also be able to access the same applications, services, and data from home that are available in the normal office.

When setting up your workplace, you should make sure you’re setting up an ergonomic home office , and that you’re getting enough movement at your workplace . Therefore, you should also consider home office design , so that you can focus on getting your work done. If you have children and work from home , you should make sure that you can juggle work and family.

As nice as the idea of working from home sounds – there are also negative aspects to this way of working. Both the advantages and disadvantages relate to productivity and quality of work on the one hand, and to personal well-being and teamwork on the other. However, most of the disadvantages can often be turned into advantages by introducing certain behaviors and following rules .

One topic that’s relevant when working from home, for example, is work-life balance : The advantage is already apparent in the fact that you save the time spent on your daily commute. Experience has shown, however, that home-based employees tend to work more rather than less. Here, all those involved should make sure to stick to the contractual working hours. In their own interest, employees must also discipline themselves.

For example, many people who have set up an office at home also mention the peace and quiet they have there. In a large office, there are constant distractions: colleagues talking to you, telephones ringing, and even public traffic causes anxiety. These disturbing factors are eliminated within your private home – although there may be other reasons for anxiety: children screaming, a package delivery, the washing machine beeping. At home, you yourself are responsible for ensuring a quiet working atmosphere.

These and other factors should be considered, when setting up your home office.

If you have the technical means in place to work from home and the job does not require a local presence, there are many benefits of the home office. But discipline is necessary for this. Without it, either the quality of work or your physical and mental health may suffer. In the end, the decision is also a question of character. Not everyone works well in a home office environment. But many people can certainly benefit from this modern way of working.

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10 Best Desks for Every Type of Home Office

Time to upgrade your work-from-home setup.

home office desk

We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

Our top products:

Computer Desk with Bookshelf

Best Overall Home Office Desk

Topsky computer desk with bookshelf.

Linnmon / Adils

Best Value Home Office Desk

Ikea linnmon / adils.

Quinn Mini Desk

Best Stylish Home Office Desk

West elm quinn mini desk.

eFloat One

Best Compact Home Office Desk

Humanscale efloat one.

Mobile Stand Up Desk

Best Home Office Standing Desk

Siducal mobile stand up desk.

Telos Computer Desk

Best Home Office Computer Desk

Nathan james telos computer desk.

Jarvis L-Shaped Standing Desk

Best L-Shaped Home Office Desk

Fully jarvis l-shaped standing desk.

V2 Bamboo Standing Desk

Best Adjustable Home Office Desk

Uplift v2 bamboo standing desk.

Wall-Mounted Workstation

Best Home Office Floating Desk

Haotian wall-mounted workstation.

Micke Desk

Best Home Office Desk with Storage

Ikea micke desk.

After reading about the best home office desks, scroll further to find out what to look for when shopping for a desk and how we narrowed down our favorite picks.

This desk checks off everything you'd need for a WFH space. Our pros love that it features a large surface area, so you’ll have plenty of room for a monitor, laptop, keyboard, photos and notebooks. It comes in three wood shades and is supported by black steel legs that should suit most rooms and mesh with other furniture. Several reviewers on Amazon write that the desk is sturdy, easy to assemble and attractive. While we haven’t yet tested this model in the Lab, our experts appreciate the shelf situated underneath the worksurface for storing easy-to-reach items. We also like the addition of a metal cable grommet hole cover so you can hide messy cables.

Sometimes you just need a desk that gets the job done. Look no further than Ikea if you need a home office desk that’s simple, functional and affordable . While we haven’t tested this model in the Lab, customers rave about its great value and easy assembly. Our pros like that it’s lightweight so it shouldn’t be a hassle to move around your home, and that you can customize the color of the tabletop surface and legs.

If you live in an apartment or don’t have room to set up an entire home office, consider this mini home office desk from West Elm. Our pros love that it can double up as a trendy side table when you’re not working and that it features two convenient storage drawers. “The metal legs and textured wood drawers — with just enough space to hold things like notepads and pens — are a nice touch,” says Senior Home Editor at Good Housekeeping, Monique Valeris . “It's also lightweight, which is key for a design fanatic who likes to switch up their layout from time to time. I can easily move it around my workspace whenever the mood strikes.”

The pros at the Good Housekeeping Institute love this desk from Humanscale so much that we named it a winner of the 2022 Home Renovation Awards . The 28 x 36” bamboo work surface not only looks sleek but is compact enough to suit most workspaces and has enough room to accommodate a laptop, keyboard and other work-from-home essentials. We love that the desk features an electric touchpad, making it easy to adjust the height of the desk so you can choose whether you prefer to work sitting or standing throughout the day. “The pneumatic lift was easy to use and worked smoothly,” says one tester. Others noted that the desk is easy to move around from room to room thanks to casters.

We love this standing desk not only for its practicality but also for its hard-to-beat price. With space for a computer monitor and laptop on the top shelf and a dedicated area for a keyboard and mouse on the bottom shelf, it's the perfect solution for working comfortably in tight spaces . Though this desk's height can only be adjusted manually, we like that you have the option of working standing or sitting. We also like that the desk's design features wheels so you can move it around if need be (or lock it into place).

This home office desk from Nathan James is the ideal size for all your home office essentials like a monitor up to 28 inches, a keyboard and a mousepad. We love that it features a built-in drawer so you can hide your keyboard on weekends — and the pinewood legs are a stylish touch. While our pros haven’t tested this model in the Lab, online reviewers say that they like the desk’s high-quality design, perfect size and excellent customer service .

Whether you've moved into a new home and want to build out your home office or revamp your existing workspace, our pros recommend this L-shaped home office desk from Fully. We love the massive work surface area that enables you to fit multiple monitors thanks to an impressive weight capacity and that it has a built-in electric motor so you can a djust the desk's height and alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day . It also comes in left and right configurations so you can choose the best fit for your office. "The standing desk from Fully is far superior to any regular desks I've owned. It's comparable to the quality of sit/stand desks at offices," says one tester.

Our engineers and analysts love this pick if you're looking for an adjustable home office desk. We found that it remains very stable while also being able to support a monitor and other accessories. Executive Technical Director at the Good Housekeeping Institute, Rachel Rothman , recommends the Uplift desk for couples or families thanks to the desk's impressive height adjustment range . Our testers also like that this desk features handy memory settings so you (and others) can adjust the desk to your optimal working height with the press of a button on the keypad.

Who said your home office desk has to take up precious space? Our pros love this wall-mounted floating desk that looks like a bookshelf but features office conveniences like a cable and wire hole. It has just enough room for your laptop and mousepad during work hours, and extra shelves can be used to display photos, books and accessories. With a load capacity of 66 lbs., you shouldn't expect to fit a monitor on this minimalist desk, but it's a great solution for anyone who doesn't have room for a dedicated office in their home . Amazon reviewers note that they were pleasantly surprised with the desk's sturdiness and how much it can hold.

Consider this desk from Ikea if you have a few notebooks, headphones and papers you'd like to be able to keep organized. We appreciate that it's both affordable and practical, featuring multiple drawers and shelves for storage . Best of all, if you ever need to grow your home office, this desk can be combined with additional desks and drawers from Ikea's Micke line. Our experts also like that it's available in four colors and includes a cable organizer so your work surface never feels cluttered with wires.

How we chose the best home office desks

knk

The experts and analysts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have been testing the best home office essentials since way before working from home became so common. When choosing the best home office desks, our pros evaluated a number of key criteria such as ease of assembly, ease of use, size and design and special or customizable features like portability and electric height adjustment. Several of the models we feature were tested in real homes and evaluated for construction and design quality by our pros. Chief Technologist and Executive Technical Director, Rachel Rothman , coordinated tests of several of the standing desk units and similar models on this list, evaluating based on design, comprehensive height range and ease of assembly from a consumer's standpoint, as well as desk stability throughout multiple hours of standard use and ease of adjustability through electric or manual operation. For desks that haven’t yet been vetted in our Labs, our experts reviewed online consumer feedback as well as specifications.

What to look for when shopping for a home office desk

✔️ Size: Before you get ahead of yourself and splurge on a home office desk online, first make sure to measure your space. Then determine how large of a working surface area you'll need. Do you need room for a monitor or just a laptop? How about accessories like a keyboard and mousepad?

✔️ Height and adjustability: Next, ask yourself who will be using the home office desk. If you plan on sharing with a partner or family member (especially if they're taller or shorter than you), consider purchasing a desk with an adjustable height. Desks that feature adjustable heights are often standing desks, so you can alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day.

✔️ Design and appearance: Do you want an L-shaped desk, or do you prefer a compact, minimalist desk that can blend in with your other furniture? It's important that you pick a desk that's not only functional but one that suits your style. After all, you'll be looking at it every day.

✔️ Storage: Several of the desks above feature storage options like drawers or shelves while others only come with a work surface. If you're someone that likes to use multiple accessories (think notepads, headphones, etc.), consider a home office desk with built-in storage.

✔️ Ease of assembly: Some desks will be easier to put together than others. Check reviews for whether other consumers found the assembly to be cumbersome. Also, consider the weight of the desk so you have a better idea of how heavy it will be when delivered.

✔️ Special features: Some desks are super minimalist, while others have customization options like the ability to change the finish, add a wire management kit or monitor arm and more. Pay attention to what extra add-ons are offered if that's something you're interested in.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

Media & Tech Reviews Analyst Olivia Lipski covers everything from consumer electronics to home appliances, health and fitness. She has regularly collaborated with GH health and home experts to test and review the best home office essentials, and she’s a firm believer in alternating between sitting and standing throughout the workday.

Headshot of Olivia Lipski

Olivia (she/her) is a media and tech product reviews analyst at the Good Housekeeping Institute , covering tech, home, auto, health and more. She has more than five years of experience writing about tech trends and innovation and, prior to joining GH in 2021, was a writer for Android Central, Lifewire and other media outlets. Olivia is a graduate of George Washington University, with a bachelor's degree in journalism, political science and French, and she holds a master’s degree in communications from Sciences Po Paris.

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What you're probably doing wrong if you work from home

  • People working from home stand less than one hour per workday, a survey found.
  • Lack of movement plus poor posture from home setups can lead to health issues.
  • Alan Hedge, an ergonomics expert, recommends a mix of sitting, standing, and moving.

Insider Today

You might think you're sitting pretty if you get to work from home. Turns out you might be sitting pretty much all day.

A survey of US workers found that those who log on from home tend to stand for less than an hour during the workday. And more than one in three remote workers say they only get up for 10 minutes or less until it's time to sign off.

By comparison, the average worker — including those who head into the office — stands for about 101 minutes, according to the findings from MyBioSource, which sells supplies used in biological and medical research. The survey of 1,000 workers took place in mid-January.

Much of the debate in recent years about where workers do their jobs often centers on areas like collaboration, productivity , and achieving a work-life balance. Some work-from-home evangelists say being remote gives them more time to hit the gym or walk at lunch. Yet the survey findings signal that rolling out of bed and into a home office could dent some workers' health.

"If you look at people working at home, you'll find that they are not as active as they otherwise would be," Alan Hedge, a professor emeritus in the Department of Human Centered Design at Cornell University, told Business Insider.

Hedge, who has studied workplace ergonomics for decades and wasn't involved in the survey, said the challenge with working from home isn't just about how long people sit or stand. Many workers are also likely maintaining poor posture by sitting on a couch, at a table, or on a bed. He added that, too often, workers look down at a laptop or phone, causing up to a sixfold increase in strain on their necks.

"It's critical that you don't just think in terms of time here — that you think in terms of working in a healthy posture," Hedge said.

After about 20 minutes, it's time to get up

Hedge recommends workers follow this approach : 20 minutes sitting with good posture, eight minutes standing — maybe at a standing desk — and then two minutes of standing and moving.

For a workday that lasts seven and a half hours, this translates to five hours of sitting, two hours of standing, and a half hour of moving. Critically, he said, the regimen results in 16 transitions when people go from sitting to standing and standing to sitting. He said research by NASA found that number of ups and downs was beneficial.

Hedge said the recommendation for standing for eight minutes reflects that many people begin to lean after too much longer. That can result in bad posture, even for someone using a standing desk.

In general, he said, what's more important than the specific numbers is to build a pattern of moving into the workday.

Movement can boost productivity

All of this moving around raises obvious questions about getting work done. Some workers feel pressure to remain welded to their laptops because they have so much to do. But Hedge said breaks — including time not spent staring at a screen — are essential and can boost productivity and creativity.

In the survey, more than one in four workers said they didn't go outside during the workday. Getting fresh air can reduce stress and fatigue .

Hedge said more employers need to encourage their people to learn what he calls a pattern of moving. The idea is to build activities like standing into our day so they become as routine as pouring a coffee in the morning. Learning to take breaks and move as part of the natural course of a workday is more effective, Hedge said, than screen pop-ups or a nudge from a smartwatch that it's time to get up.

"Eventually, people do feel, 'Boy, this technology is nagging me.' And they begin to ignore it," he said.

Workers, or their employers, don't have to spend as much as they once did on the tools needed to work safely, Hedge said, because prices for equipment that can give an ergonomic boost have come down.

"You need the right pattern of movement. You need the right products that you're going to work with, and you need the right postures to work in," he said. "If you can get pattern, product, posture all synchronized, you will never have a problem. And you'll be highly productive."

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Watch: How you sit at work can have a huge impact on your health

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Former U.S. diplomat admits to working as a Cuban intelligence agent for decades

a grainy portrait of Manuel Rocha

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A former career U.S. diplomat said in court Thursday that he would plead guilty to charges of serving as a secret agent for communist Cuba going back decades, bringing a rapid resolution to a case prosecutors described as one of the most brazen betrayals in the history of the U.S. foreign service.

Manuel Rocha, 73, told a federal judge he would admit to two federal counts of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government, charges that carry a maximum penalty of 5 to 10 years in prison each. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop 13 additional counts for crimes including wire fraud and making false statements.

Prosecutors and Rocha’s attorney indicated they had agreed upon a sentence, but details of that were not disclosed in court Thursday. Rocha is due back in court on April 12, when he’s expected to be sentenced.

“I am in agreement,” said Rocha, shackled at the hands and ankles, when asked by U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom whether he wished to change his plea to guilty.

Rocha was arrested by the FBI at his Miami home in December on allegations that he had engaged in “clandestine activity” on Cuba’s behalf since at least 1981 — the year he joined the U.S. foreign service — including by meeting with Cuban intelligence operatives and providing false information to U.S. officials about his contacts.

Federal authorities have said little about exactly what Rocha did to assist Cuba while working for the State Department for two decades at posts in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico and the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. He followed that with a lucrative post-government career that included a stint as a special advisor to the head of the Pentagon’s U.S. Southern Command.

The case relies largely on what prosecutors say were Rocha’s own admissions, made over the last year to an undercover FBI agent who secretly recorded him while posing as a Cuban intelligence operative who went by “Miguel.”

In those recordings, Rocha praised the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro as “Comandante”; branded the U.S. the “enemy”; and bragged about his more than 40 years as a Cuban mole in the heart of U.S. foreign policy circles, the complaint says.

“What we have done … it’s enormous … more than a Grand Slam,” he was quoted as saying in one of several secretly recorded conversations.

Rocha’s decision to plead guilty Thursday came just hours after the widow of a prominent Cuban dissident who was killed in a mysterious car crash filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him. The lawsuit accuses Rocha of sharing intelligence that emboldened Cuba’s communist leaders to assassinate a chief opponent.

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Why do we leap day we remind you (so you can forget for another 4 years).

Rachel Treisman

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A clock showing February 29, also known as leap day. They only happen about once every four years. Olivier Le Moal/Getty Images hide caption

A clock showing February 29, also known as leap day. They only happen about once every four years.

Nearly every four years, the Gregorian calendar — which is used in the majority of countries around the world — gets an extra day: February 29.

For some people, leap day means frog jokes and extravagant birthday parties. For many, it may conjure memories of the 2010 rom-com Leap Year , which harkens back to the Irish tradition by which women can propose to men on that one day. And others likely see it merely as a funny quirk in the calendar, or just another Thursday.

Leap day means several different things to Alexander Boxer, a data scientist and the author of A Scheme of Heaven: The History of Astrology and the Search for Our Destiny in Data .

Our lives are ruled by the illusion of time

Our lives are ruled by the illusion of time

Literally speaking, he says, it's an "awkward calendar hack" aimed at making up for the fact that a year isn't a flat number of days, but more like 365 and a quarter. But there's more to it than that.

"I think the significance of the leap year is that it's a great reminder that the universe is really good at defying our attempts to devise nice and pretty and aesthetically pleasing systems to fit it in," he told NPR's Morning Edition .

Leap for joy! The creative ways NPR listeners are marking Feb. 29

Leap for joy! The creative ways NPR listeners are marking Feb. 29

Boxer says it's also a great reminder that the calendar most people rely on every day is actually the product of multiple civilizations, building off each other as they share in what he calls "this great undertaking of trying to understand time."

So where did leap year come from, and what are we supposed to do with our extra day? NPR's Morning Edition spoke with experts in astronomy, history and economics to find out.

Why do we have leap years?

Most people know that a single day is about 24 hours long, and that there are 365 days in a year.

But it actually takes Earth 365.242190 days to orbit the sun, says Jackie Faherty, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

"And that .242190 days to go around the sun is the entire reason why we have a leap year," she explained.

Centuries ago, people kept track of the sun's position — such as for a solstice or the longest day of the year — to know when to do things like plant and harvest. Over time, she says, the need grew for a centralized calendar system.

The Hebrew, Chinese and Buddhist calendars, among others, have long contained entire leap months. The West is no stranger to leap years either.

The science and shared history behind the Gregorian and Chinese calendars

The science and shared history behind the Gregorian and Chinese calendars

The Julian Calendar, which Julius Caesar introduced in 45 BC, included an extra day every year. He borrowed the idea from the Egyptians, though his math wasn't exactly correct . Caesar overestimated the solar year by about 11 minutes, leading to an overcorrection by about eight days each millennium. That explains why Easter, for example, fell further and further away from the spring equinox over time.

Pope Gregory XIII sought to address that problem in the 16th century with the Gregorian Calendar , which adds leap days in years divisible by four, unless the year is also divisible by 100. To make matters even more confusing, a leap day is still added in years divisible by 400.

Why add the extra day in February? Boxer, the data scientist, says the Romans considered it an unlucky month. On top of that, they were deeply suspicious of odd numbers. Because February only had 28 days to begin with, they "just shoved it into February," though leap day used to be on the 24th.

Ultimately, says Boxer, the calendar is a compromise.

"On the one hand, you don't want a calendar that makes it so complicated to know how many days it's going to be from one year to the next," he added. "But on the other hand, you want to make sure that winter holidays, too, in the winter and summer holidays, stay in the summer, especially if your holidays are related to things like agriculture, harvest holidays and whatnot."

What does leap day mean for birthdays?

One tangible impact of a leap year is that birthdays will fall on a different day of the week than their usual pattern.

"If your birthday was on a Tuesday last year, you're going to skip over Wednesday and you'll have a birthday on a Thursday," said Faherty. "Not to mention those poor people that are born on February 29, a day that only exists every four years."

There are about 5 million people worldwide with a Feb. 29 birthday, according to the History Channel . The list of so-called "leaplings" includes celebrities such as motivational speaker Tony Robbins and hip-hop artist Ja Rule. And peoples' odds of joining their ranks are small — about 1-in-1,461, to be exact.

Several leaplings told NPR that there's no set rule on which day to celebrate their birthday in a non-leap year. Some prefer Feb. 28, others March 1 and many do both.

To reignite the joy of childhood, learn to live on 'toddler time'

Shots - Health News

To reignite the joy of childhood, learn to live on 'toddler time'.

"My answer to this question has evolved over the years," said Michael Kozlowski Jr., a leap day baby based in Belgium. "It used to be February for the reasons that I identified more with that month compared to March. But these days I honestly like to celebrate both days or even the entire week. It seems only fair and it works and it feels great."

They acknowledged both pros and cons of having a leap day birthday. Several said that while they were teased about it in grade school, it helped them develop a thicker skin and gave them a fun fact for life — plus more days to celebrate.

Plus, many online forms — including for the DMV — don't recognize Feb. 29 as a possible birth date. Raenell Dawn, the co-founder of the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies, told NPR in 2020 that those logistics can cause trouble, especially when it comes to things like driver's license expirations. But she also said there's no reason for leaplings to change their birth date.

"Humans program the computer, so the humans need to program it correctly," she said. "'Cause February 29 is everyone's extra day. And it's a day that started in 45 B.C. And it's the most important date on the calendar because it keeps all the dates on the calendar in line with the seasons."

What should you do — and not do — on Feb. 29?

There are lots of superstitions and traditions about leap day on the internet, and a few celebrations to look forward to IRL.

A decades-old French satirical newspaper , La Bougie du Sapeur , goes to print only on Feb. 29 — this year included . There are also festivities in the "Leap Year Capital of the World," as Anthony, Texas, is known.

Leapling Mary Ann Brown petitioned Congress to give Anthony, Texas — and Anthony, New Mexico, on the other side of the state line — that designation in 1988 because of the "numerous number of leap year births that happened within the two towns," Mayor Anthony Turner told NPR over email.

In years past, he said, the community marked leap day with a parade that stretched between the two towns of Anthony. This year, the Texas side is hosting a two-day leap year festival , complete with live music, local vendors and an exclusive barbecue dinner for leap day babies.

"This is an opportunity for the community to take pride in the fact that they live in the leap year capital of the world, and a great chance for everyone from everywhere to join us and enjoy the true beauty of our lovely town," Turner added.

For Leap Day Only, A Rare Newspaper Goes To Print

For Leap Day Only, A Rare Newspaper Goes To Print

Worldwide, most leap day lore revolves around romance and marriage, as the History Channel explains.

According to one legend, complaints from St. Bridget prompted St. Patrick to designate Feb. 29 as the one day when women can propose to men. The custom spread to Scotland and England, where the British said that any man who rejects a woman's proposal owes her several pairs of fine gloves. In Greece and some other places, it's considered bad luck to get married on leap day.

Katherine Parkin, a history professor at Monmouth University, said she doesn't believe any of the myths are true — but doesn't think they had to be in order to take hold, which they did in America as early as the 1780s.

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An example of one of many early 20th century postcards by cartoonist Clare Victor Dwiggins — "Dwig" — showing women pursuing men in a leap year. Katherine Parkin hide caption

An example of one of many early 20th century postcards by cartoonist Clare Victor Dwiggins — "Dwig" — showing women pursuing men in a leap year.

The real origin, she believes, is that people have historically liked to challenge gender and gender roles.

"And in the case of marriage, to have a reversal of that power, I think is really unusual," she added. "And it ties perfectly with this unusual date. Where did it come from and where did it go? And so I think it really plays well into people's imagination and playfulness."

But Parkin says her research points to darker undertones behind the tradition — namely, that it was actually intended to ridicule women.

The dark history of eating green on St. Patrick's Day

The dark history of eating green on St. Patrick's Day

She points to the proliferation of postcards in the 20th century — which people would send each other across all kinds of relationships — that portrayed women who proposed to men as desperate, unattractive and aggressive, such as holding butterfly nets and pointing guns at guys.

"It's proving to ... reinforce that it's a leap year and that this tradition exists and yet at the same time telling women, you really don't want to do this because it looks bad for you," Parkin said. "As a historian, I look back to this tradition and see it as part of an American desire to offer women false empowerment."

Of the more than 100 people who responded to an NPR callout about their leap day celebrations and traditions, several said they had gotten engaged or married on Feb. 29. Only one explicitly mentioned gender roles.

"I think this is the day that (traditionally) a woman was able to propose?" wrote Suzanne Forbes. "If so, I plan on proposing to myself in a beautiful southern setting (likely [Georgia], while solo kayaking)!"

What if we didn't have leap years?

Not everyone loves leap day.

Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, is one critic. He argues that the current calendar, in which dates occur on different days of the week each year, creates scheduling problems as well as confusion around holiday dates.

That's why he and Johns Hopkins astrophysics professor Dick Henry have created the Hanke–Henry Permanent Calendar , a proposal for a new calendar that would implement an occasional leap week rather than leap day.

"The great thing about the permanent calendar is that it never changes," Hanke explained. "The date would be on the same day. Every year, year after year after year ... January 1st is always on a Monday. July 4th is always on a Thursday. December 25th, Christmas, is always on a Monday."

How did COVID warp our sense of time? It's a matter of perception

How did COVID warp our sense of time? It's a matter of perception

Their calendar divides the year into four three-month quarters, each with the same number of days. The first two months of each quarter — including January and February — would always have 30 days, and the third month would have 31. Every six years, there would be an extra seven days at the end of December, which Hanke says would "eliminate calendar drift."

Hanke argues that his proposed calendar would save confusion and potentially money, pointing to studies in the United Kingdom that show the economic gains associated with having public holidays on weekends. And he believes it would be easy for a president to implement the new system by executive order, something that he and Henry have even drafted, just in case.

Still, he describes their lobbying efforts as more of a "soft sell" at the moment.

It seems like the current calendar system — with its leap days and years — may be here to stay, despite the many possible alternates. Faherty, the astronomer, says if someone truly wanted to keep track of their path around the sun, one could "build yourself a henge and know when the solstice is and carry on from that."

"But we don't do that," she said. "We gave it an interval and we follow that, so now we're stuck. And now you have to enter these leap days, to try and do our best to fix the human need to have a document that says where exactly you are in the position that the Earth is falling around."

And that's probably enough to think about for the year, maybe even the next three.

Adam Bearne and Julie Depenbrock contributed reporting.

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David Shoebridge

The wanted: Australia’s approach to investigating alleged international crimes ‘not working’, Greens say

David Shoebridge’s comments follow Guardian/Four Corners investigation that revealed Rwanda issued indictments for two men living in Australia it accused of participating in genocide

Australia’s current approach to investigating and prosecuting allegations of serious international crimes “is not working”, the Greens defence and justice spokesperson, David Shoebridge, has said.

Legal experts and former prosecutors have said Australia needs a specialist investigations unit to look into allegations of international crimes such as genocide, or it risks becoming a “safe haven”.

Reports from the Guardian and Four Corners on Monday that the Rwandan government has issued indictments for two men in Australia it accuses of participating in the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994 have reanimated debate about Australia’s commitment to investigating and prosecuting international crimes such as genocide.

Shoebridge stressed that Australia should be proud of its history as a multicultural country that welcomed people from all over the world.

But the senator held that “we need to have the systems in place to investigate and prosecute” individuals accused of involvement in alleged international crimes. “We also need to work with other countries to ensure people can’t escape prosecution,” he said.

“Australia should be extremely proud that so many people from around the world come here to build their lives, in some cases fleeing countries where they face violence and persecution.

“We owe every survivor of oppression, torture or genocide an obligation to make our society safe for them and to have systems in place that hold any offenders to account. This, you hope, is a bare minimum we can agree on regardless of politics.”

A spokesperson for the attorney general said the government could not comment on specific cases, but that “the Australian government is committed to tackling serious international crimes and takes allegations of genocide very seriously”.

In 2007, the Labor party’s national policy platform said it recognised the Australian government’s key role in developing the convention on the prevention and punishment of genocide and other international treaties, but said “there are major gaps in Australia’s domestic laws that allow such accused criminals to enter and live here without fear of prosecution”.

“Labor is committed to meeting Australia’s international human rights obligations by closing these loopholes and Labor will review investigatory resources to ensure that any [alleged] perpetrators found in Australia can be brought to justice.”

The commitment has since been dropped from the policy platform.

Legal experts and former prosecutors have argued that Australia – unlike other comparable countries such as the UK, US and European countries – does not have a dedicated unit that specialises in investigating international crimes.

Rawan Arraf, the executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, has said that a lack of a dedicated investigative body in Australia meant it was failing its international obligations.

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“Where a generalist unit within the AFP [Australian federal police] has been involved in international crimes investigations, it has proven ill-equipped to deal with the complexities of these investigations and lacks the expertise required,” she said.

A spokesperson for the AFP rejected suggestions it lacked expertise and resources to adequately investigate alleged international crimes.

“The AFP works closely with foreign law enforcement agencies, international bodies and mechanisms” who prosecute alleged international crimes to ensure alleged perpetrators “with a connection to Australia are held to account”, the spokesperson said.

The Guardian/Four Corners investigation revealed Rwanda has issued indictments for two men it believes are in Australia and whom it accuses of participating in the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.

Rwanda has requested the men’s arrest and extradition to the country to face fresh trials, or for Australia to prosecute the men domestically.

One of the men, who lives in Brisbane, has said allegations against him are “false” and “smears”; the family of the second man says he is innocent although they insist he is not in the country.

 Frida Umahoza tells how she survived the 1994 Rwandan Genocide - video

The Guardian/Four Corners investigation does not suggest the two men are guilty, only that serious allegations deserve further investigation by appropriate authorities.

The cases, however, could prove legally complex. Australia waited decades after ratifying the genocide convention to make genocide a crime under domestic law, not adopting legislation until 2002. The laws, when passed, were not retrospective, so a charge of genocide predating that time could not be prosecuted under the criminal code without legislative change.

Australia does not have an extradition treaty with Rwanda and has never extradited anybody there.

While there are multilateral treaties under which Australia could extradite a person to Rwanda, Australia’s courts, or the government, might be reluctant to return someone to a country with a questionable human rights record and, as some observers argue, a compromised criminal justice system.

According to Human Rights Watch , the Rwandan government manipulates elections by arresting or assassinating critics and obstructing opposition parties, and polls are marred by allegations of voter intimidation and electoral fraud.

Some Rwandan community members in Australia have said the indictments against the two men here are politically motivated or, at least, have been raised by the Rwandan government as a way to silence dissent.

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Most viewed

Raspberry Pi 5 support and more in Home Assistant OS release 12 & Supervisor update

TL;DR: Home Assistant OS 12 adds support for Raspberry Pi 5 and ODROID-M1S boards, with the Linux kernel updated to 6.6. Additionally, backups have become faster, and add-ons can now signal when they should not be auto-updated.

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Raspberry Pi 5

With the release of Home Assistant OS 12, we officially announce Raspberry Pi 5 support! Many Home Assistant OS users have extensively tested the preview releases during the last few months, and after some initial hiccups with the Raspberry Pi 5-specific update mechanism, things are stable and solid today. As a third of all Home Assistant users currently use a Raspberry Pi board as their dedicated Home Assistant system, we are sure this support will make many users very happy!

Compared to other Raspberry Pi boards, HAOS does not use U-Boot as an extra bootloader. Instead, the Raspberry Pi’s built-in “tryboot” functionality is used to automatically fall back to a previous release in case of an update failure. This new update mechanism integration required us to have a longer testing phase.

In our testing, the higher CPU clock of the Raspberry Pi 5 (up to 2.4GHz) makes Home Assistant feel noticeably snappier compared to previous Raspberry Pi boards. Additionally, a Raspberry Pi HAT that provides NVMe SSD support allows you to extend your Raspberry Pi with fast, reliable, and cost-effective storage. We do recommend using an SD card as the boot medium and using the data disk feature to move most of the Home Assistant installation onto the NVMe. This is easy to set up and guarantees a reliable boot.

The Raspberry Pi 5 is not the only new board that is supported with this release. We are happy to announce that the family of supported ODROID devices from the Korean manufacturer Hardkernel has become bigger thanks to a community contribution from Tim Lunn (darkxst), who implemented board support for the ODROID-M1S. The ODROID-M1S is the newest single-board computer from Hardkernel, which is similar to the already supported ODROID-M1, which was added in Home Assistant OS 10. This new board offers a slimmer form factor, 4 or 8 GB of RAM on board, and an embedded 64 GB eMMC storage. Home Assistant OS can be booted either from an SD card or the system can be flashed to the eMMC card using the procedure described in the documentation . While the board also has an NVMe slot for a solid-state drive, it is not supported as a boot device. However, just like on the Raspberry Pi 5, it can still be used as the data disk.

Just like its larger brother, the ODROID-M1S is powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex-A55, but while ODROID-M1 has (very slightly) beefier Rockchip RK3568 SoC, this board sports the RK3566. Some of our more curious readers may notice this is the same processor that is found on our Home Assistant Green! While there are some similarities between those two boards, Home Assistant Green can offer you a seamless out-of-box experience, allowing you to set up your smart home in a matter of minutes. But Home Assistant is also about the freedom of choice, so if you are looking for a more DIY approach, ODROID-M1S might be the right choice for you.

Home Assistant OS 12 now comes with Linux kernel 6.6! This is good news for those who want to run their Home Assistant on newer hardware that lacked support in the previous 6.1 kernel. This version update also allows us to extend the list of supported Wi-Fi and Bluetooth cards, including ones you may find in new mini-PCs, a popular platform for Home Assistant OS. Those who run their installations on a Raspberry Pi (including the CM4 in Home Assistant Yellow) may notice their kernel version still starts with 6.1. This is because we are not using the upstream kernel but the downstream one maintained by the Raspberry Pi developers. But this kernel was also updated to the latest stable version, which we hope will resolve some sporadic bugs.

Home Assistant OS sticks to the LTS (long-term support) kernels, which are usually released once per year - just like Buildroot, the base system we use for Home Assistant OS. This time, we are slightly ahead of schedule, because usually the kernel update is done alongside the bump of the Buildroot version. But don’t worry, the Buildroot update is coming soon as well, and we expect to include its update in one of the next minor Home Assistant OS releases coming in the following weeks. This will conclude this year’s spring cleaning of Home Assistant OS, and we will be ready to focus on new features and improvements again!

Faster Backups

Home Assistant Supervisor and Core’s built-in backup functionality has become much faster. Thanks to contributions from bdraco, the backup feature gained faster compression speeds due to a library named isal, which provides optimized low-level functions for compression and decompression. More importantly, the backup feature now avoids intermediate copies, making it faster on slower storage media especially. If you used uncompressed backups before because the backup used to be too slow for you, now is the time to give compressed backups a try again! 😀

Comparison of the speed of a 100MB backup on a Home Assistant Yellow, between Supervisor 2023.12.1 and 2024.02.0.

Home Assistant OS users’ backup functionality is part of Supervisor. You’ll have received the improvements incrementally over the releases of the past few weeks. At the time of writing, your installation should run on Home Assistant Supervisor 2024.02.0 with all these improvements built in.

Safer add-on auto-updates

Last, but not least, the Supervisor features an auto-update flag for add-ons. However, depending on the nature of an update to the add-on, the new version might need user intervention or have breaking changes. Add-on developers now have the option to prevent auto-updates to such versions. Users of the auto-update feature might see an update notification despite auto-updates being enabled. This means that the author of the add-on decided that this particular update should not be auto-updated and instead be manually approved by the user.

Note: We generally don’t recommend auto-updates for add-ons, as even safe updates might interfere with regular operation. For example, during the automatic update of an add-on like Z-Wave JS, your Z-Wave devices would unexpectedly become unavailable for a short time. The better approach for such add-ons is to plan some time to maintain your Home Assistant system every once in a while and update your add-ons in a batch.

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    Ideas on how to work from home Here are the 50 best ideas for working from home to generate income: Teach online classes Share teachable skills like yoga, a foreign language, cooking or home maintenance tips in online forums and paid platforms. Companies also hire online learning hosts or teachers for virtual schooling with children.

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  28. Raspberry Pi 5 support and more in Home Assistant OS release 12

    TL;DR: Home Assistant OS 12 adds support for Raspberry Pi 5 and ODROID-M1S boards, with the Linux kernel updated to 6.6. Additionally, backups have become faster, and add-ons can now signal when they should not be auto-updated. Raspberry Pi 5. With the release of Home Assistant OS 12, we officially announce Raspberry Pi 5 support!