If your aim this year is to achieve a better work-life balance, you’re definitely not alone. But if that means working from home, you need to be sure your home office network is up to the task. Flexible working is great, but you need the right infrastructure in your home so you can stay connected.
More of us are choosing home working
The old adage about working smarter not harder has never been more relevant. 1.6 million UK employees are avoiding a gruelling daily commute and regularly working from home. And with 4.8 million self-employed – a whopping 15% of the working population – more of us than ever are choosing to be our own boss.
One of the main reasons is advances in technology making it much easier. Office jobs that would have traditionally had us chained to a desk can now be done from the comfort of our sofas. And setting up a business and promoting it online, often for free, has never been easier.
Home office network problems
For all this ease and convenience, when it comes to WiFi and networking, the emphasis is probably more on the ‘home’ than the ‘office’. This is becoming a real problem for the modern day home office worker.
We have more productivity tools, we’re better connected and it’s easier than ever to communicate and collaborate remotely. Which is fantastic if it all works as it should.
The trouble is, things can quickly unravel when you throw in a stuttering wireless connection. And if you’re relying on network and WiFi equipment designed for home use, the issue is an increasingly common one.
Modern home workers need business standard WiFi
Homes are now connecting multiple devices, with multiple users, for multiple purposes, and expecting fast internet speeds when they do. In many ways it’s not so different from the demands made of a small business network. So how can we expect the free router from our ISP, and maybe a few boosters, to cope with the demand?
Wireless technology is getting cheaper. Consequently, enterprise standard home office network and WiFi installations are becoming more affordable on a household budget. For a medium sized house, it’s probably no more than you’d spend on a Macbook or a reasonable spec PC.
But it seems we’re fixated on the idea that WiFi should just ‘happen’ as a by-product of having a broadband connection.
In reality, to achieve the aim of a better work-life balance through home working, it needs to be much further up the priority list. Not an afterthought, but front and centre of planning your home office. Without reliable home office wireless, you could end up just swapping your old set of 9-5 office work stresses for another.
Get help with your home office WiFi
Finding working from home frustrating because of a poor home office wireless network? If you’re in the Bath and Bristol area we can help.
Get in touch today to find out about our professional, business standard wired and wireless networks for home offices.
