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Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, most people have let themselves believe that working from home automatically lessens their environmental impact – there’s no fumes pumping out from your commute, no large-scale office heaters, or any powerful air-conditioning.
This isn’t necessarily the case, though. There are some good arguments as to why working from home does not actually lessen your environmental impact (at least in the winter).
It comes down to one main fact – the temperature in winter. It’s actually more environmentally friendly to use those large-scale office heaters than heating up individual homes. We don’t really have air-conditioning in the UK either, so that’s not a consideration for working from home in the summer as well.
You also have to take into account smaller things like making hot cups of tea and coffee – in most big offices they have large wall heaters to dispense boiling water, which is a more efficient process than individual kettles.
You’re also more likely to use more electricity in general at home, for example there are no bosses to stop you from being on your phone secretly while in a boring meeting, or from blasting out music while you work. You’re also more likely to use extra energy heating up hot food, seeing as you have easy access to your kitchen.
If this all comes as a shock to you, don’t worry. It came as a bit of a shock for us, too. But we’re here to give you some tips and tricks on how to reduce your environmental impact when working from home.
Be Careful With Your Heating
It’s quite an obvious answer, but you need to start being more careful about the way you heat your home. Try to only heat the room where you work, instead of the whole house. This can still be difficult for people to accept when going into a freezing bathroom or kitchen, though.
You could also think about layering up. If you don’t have to go on webcam for any meetings, there’s nothing stopping you from looking a bit silly by wearing three jumpers and a dressing gown while you’re at your desk.
Try Working Somewhere Else
To get around the fact that you’re heating up the whole house just for yourself, you could try inviting a friend to your place to work with, and vice versa. That way, you save on heating energy, and you both save money. Even if you have family members also working from home, set up your desks in the same room and share the heat.
If your good at not letting noise bother you, you could also go to work in a café and simultaneously use their heating.
Be Disciplined
Since working from home, if you’ve found yourself making more cups of tea or spending more time on your phone when you should be working, maybe you just need a little bit more discipline. Set yourself goals and stick to them.
In this way, you can save money on energy bills and get more work done. Maybe you can even lose a little weight if you’re cutting out on tea or coffee with sugar in.
Do Some Exercise
It’s a well-known fact that exercise raises your body temperature, and, if you do a good deal of exercise in the morning, you might find that you’ll feel warmer throughout the day, and you won’t need to put the heating on.
Doing more exercise is another way to get into shape, of course. Most people have put on extra weight during the pandemic, and now might be the time to get rid of it.
Fed Up With Working From Home?
If you’re feeling fed up with working from home, fear not – we might be able to find you a job where you can go back to work in an office or a laboratory. We’re experts at recruiting for the life science and pharmaceutical industries, and we’ve got close contacts with some of the biggest players in these fields.
Send us your CV, or apply to one of our jobs, and we’ll get the ball rolling straight away. Our philosophy here at Xplore Life Science is all about getting to know you on a personal level, as it helps to create superior job matches where people stay happily for many years.
If this sounds like your sort of thing, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’re looking forward to hearing from you – but for now it’s time to get back to the home office.
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