Description:
The life of the telecommuter or at-home self-employed worker appeals to many--47 million Americans already work out of their homes, according to Marilyn Zelinsky, and 8,000 new home offices are started each week. Yet surprisingly little attention is paid to the environment in which the work gets done. Most of us don't have a home office all set up and ready to sit down in the day after we quit our office jobs, so we end up using the dining-room table or a desk stuffed into a corner of the bedroom. Zelinsky's message is that it is important to have the right kind of space to work in--space that will feel comfortable, meet our specific needs (such as project space, or an area suitable for client meetings), maximize productivity, and keep us from falling prey to eyestrain, back pain, or carpal tunnel syndrome. "I'll warn you now that this is not a book about pretty pictures. It's a book depicting the real world of what it's like to work in a home office." The largest section of the book is devoted to office planning--not for beauty, but for health and productivity, including finding the right furniture. Zelinsky doesn't do things by halves: design professionals and ergonomic specialists are consulted, along with their customers, who provide some hindsight on the process of setting up an office. All furniture price levels are discussed, from snap-together plastic units to Ikea computer desks to the high-end "computer armoires" that keep everything together and look like expensive antiques when the doors are closed. Zelinsky is a strong proponent of ergonomic furniture, correct work-surface placement, and healthy work habits. She even devotes a chapter to feng shui. True to her promise, there are numerous first-person stories of real-life home-office problems and solutions: working with several employees in small New York City apartments; dealing with poor telecommunications services in rural areas; setting up an office to accommodate a severe physical disability; fitting a retail business and showroom into your home. Whatever your circumstances are, this is a must-read before you take that home-office plunge. --Barrie Trinkle
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