Employers should set clear home-working expectations to boost productivity, says Diamond Interiors

Rebecca Waller, workplace expert at Diamond Interiors, has urged employers and managers to set realistic expectations around staff availability and response times, respect working hours and encourage proper breaks.

This comes as Diamond Interiors identified common work-from-home habits that could affect employees’ focus, energy and productivity.

The habits included starting work without a routine, working from a sofa or bed, immediately answering notifications, booking back-to-back video calls, skipping breaks and working into the evening.

Waller said: “The biggest productivity problems when working from home are not always the obvious distractions. 

“They are often small behaviours that have gradually become part of someone’s daily routine.

“Individually, checking a notification or working through lunch might not seem significant.”

Waller added: “However, when these habits are repeated every day, they can make it much harder to concentrate, maintain energy and properly switch off after work.”

“You do not need to recreate a full commute, but having a consistent signal that the working day is beginning can make it easier to enter a focused mindset.