Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Working from homeBusiness continuityCoronavirusLatest NewsOrganisational psychology

‘Household, we have a problem’: Learning to work at home

by Binna Kandola 14 Apr 2020
by Binna Kandola 14 Apr 2020 People working from home have much to learn from astronauts
Photo: Shutterstock
People working from home have much to learn from astronauts
Photo: Shutterstock

In the second in a series of posts about living and working at home, dealing with the challenges and conflicts that may occur, Professor Binna Kandola draws on the experience of astronauts to suggest how we can minimise the irritations of the “capsule environment”.

“Can you keep that racket down? I’m trying to work here.”

“Do you have to do that here? I’m trying to have my dinner.”

“Who left that there? Can you tidy your stuff away after you finished please?”

Just a sample of the daily irritations that I’m sure are occurring in many households around the country at this very moment. Mundane as they sound, these are the very same issues faced by astronauts living and working in the International Space Station. The situation in which many of us now find ourselves in while working from home, has many similarities with the capsule environments extensively researched by NASA.

Working from home

Let’s take the positives of our capsule environment

Do I have the right equipment?

Working from home: How HR can deal with the daily dilemmas

Remote working: key considerations for junior employees’ development

Employers urged to protect health and safety of pandemic home workers

The physical environment in which people are living and working is recognised as an important determinant factor in performance. These include levels of noise, co-location of facilities, movement through different areas, storage and light.

Noise levels

Levels of noise are a particular distraction to people in capsule environments. A certain level of background noise is almost expected by us; it feels appropriate and comfortable. Too much noise, of course, is both distracting and annoying, but total silence is unnerving also.

It is possible to work in situations where there is considerable background noise – you only have to look at the number of people who are working in busy coffee shops. But here, the noises can be shut out as we have anonymity and little interest in the conversations and activity around us.

Working at home though, we are not anonymous, and so we can’t help but pay attention to what other family members are doing. Putting in headphones and playing music is one way of shutting out the distractions but this will hinder communication with the family members. Another method to adopt is to identify those tasks which particularly require background noise to be much lower and to request others to respect the fact that you will require intense concentration for a short period of time.

Alternatively, pick a time where there are fewer people around so you can concentrate on that particular task.

Co-location of facilities

As in the space station, different activities will be going on right next to one another. You may be working in an area where someone else is trying to cook; someone is trying to study while another one is playing with their Xbox; one person may be doing a Joe Wicks workout while another is on a video conference. The same space will have a variety of different functions, for example, a table will be an office desk, a recreational space and a dining area at different points during the day. This is very similar to capsule environments.

The situation in which many of us now find ourselves in while working from home, has many similarities with the capsule environments extensively researched by NASA”

At least in our homes, we are not expected to also carry out scientific experiments while other people are having a meal next to us. This can obviously be a source of conflict as people feel their activities are not being respected by others in the household.

However, one solution to this is to mark distinctions between different activities at different times of the day. So if the kitchen table is being used as a workplace for the majority of the day, all of the equipment should be moved off the table when it returns to its use as a dining area.

Storage

Storage in capsule environments is another important issue. Each astronaut going to the International Space Station is allowed to bring a certain amount of personal items with them, however on leaving, unused items tended to be left behind. Over a period of time, this meant there was a surprisingly high amount of clutter and this started to fill the place up. Sound familiar? This will be an important time to have a good clear out and discard those items which have little use for us.

Light

One of the key issues which contributed to the mental health of people working in these extreme environments is access to windows and natural light. It isn’t just about sitting next to a window, but actually being able to see natural light. This also has a considerable impact on the judgment of the habitability of a particular environment. Sitting next to a window, or just spending time looking out of the window during the course of the day, is something that will be extremely beneficial to us.

Movement

Movement from one space and area to another is also important. The key passageways should be kept clear of obstacles so that people can move as freely as possible.

Noise, ease of movement, co-location of activities, clutter and light are some of the key factors which have an impact on performance and relationships in capsule environments. With a degree of forethought and planning, we can make our living and working environments just that little bit more comfortable and habitable.

The highly influential architect Le Corbusier famously said that a house is a machine for living. Nearly 100 years after he made this statement, it is something that it still very relevant.

Read part one of Professor Kandola’s series

Avatar
Binna Kandola

Binna Kandola, founder of business psychology consultancy Pearn Kandola.

previous post
Emergency Volunteer Leave: what HR needs to know
next post
Platform brings together firms laying off with those hiring

1 comment

Avatar
Jane 15 Apr 2020 - 7:48 pm

Wow, with the greatest of respect this completely over simplifies the difficulties that are being faced right now for working families, particularly for those with small children. Some generic “good-tips” for working at home generally but not specifically to COVID, sorry.

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

MP demands timeline on carer’s leave legislation

13 May 2022

Employment tribunal: use of word ‘bald’ can amount...

13 May 2022

Rees-Mogg under fire from civil service leader over...

13 May 2022

Prime minister steps up calls for 90,000 civil...

13 May 2022

Spain plans menstrual leave for painful periods

13 May 2022

‘Small spike’ in minimum wage underpayment among 20-24...

13 May 2022

Tesco to pioneer office space in local stores

13 May 2022

How employers can support women during the HRT...

13 May 2022

What it really means to be mentally fit

13 May 2022

What is employee wellbeing? Gethin Nadin talks to...

13 May 2022
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

TOPICS

Economics, government & business
Employee Relations
Employment law
Equality & diversity
Global HR
HR practice
HR strategy
Learning & training
Occupational health
Pay & benefits
Recruitment & retention
HR Tech
Wellbeing
All HR topics

WHAT’S HOT

Apprenticeship levy
Brexit
Covid-19 coronavirus
Gender pay gap reporting
Gig economy
Holiday pay
HR tech
IR35
Immigration
People analytics
Zero-hours contracts

JOBS

Post a job
Why advertise with us?
Change Management
Compensation & Benefits
Diversity & Inclusion
Employee Relations
Employment Law
Health & Safety
HR (General)
HR Business Partner
HR Director
HR Consultant
HR Shared Services
HR Systems
People Analytics
Learning & Development
Training
Occupational Health
Organisational Development
Payroll
Performance & Engagement
Recruitment & Resourcing
Talent Management
Wellbeing
Workforce Planning

ABOUT

About Personnel Today
Contact us
Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022
RSS feeds
Advertising specifications
Email Newsletters
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards

Employee Benefits
Employee Benefits Awards
Employee Benefits Live

Forum for Expatriate Management

OHW+
OHW+ membership

Whatmedia

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+