Staying Safe While Working From Home

If you are someone who has benefited from a work-from-home arrangement, you may already know that some additional challenges come with this new working lifestyle.

During the 2020 pandemic, the number of people working from home tripled, growing from roughly 9 million people to 27.6 million people according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The responsibility to keep employees safe has shifted from the traditional office into the new home office environment.

The same dangers present in an office can exist in a home. Additionally, residential conditions and risks that normally aren’t present can exist within an off-site business setting, including home invasion, kitchen fire, weather emergency, or accidents involving children or pets.

How can employers help ensure the safety of their staff? What precedent is there for working from home, and how can workers make sure their home is protected?

The Rise of Home Offices

Before the global trend of working from home, it was somewhat common to see some homes outfitted with fully functional offices. These were owned by people who already worked remotely, including farmers, artisans, self-employed individuals, and other tradespeople. Some homes were outfitted with an office or study for the purpose of completing other household tasks or hobbies.

Although telecommuting has surged recently, there has been a growing trend toward this over the past century. As telecommunication and network connectivity improved, more work functions could be done outside of a business-owned building. Environmental factors, like congested traffic and pollution, added further pressure towards a reduced commuter culture.

Working from home is not necessarily riskier than working in an office, but when you work from home there isn’t a boss, safety code, or standards that need to be met to keep everyone safe. Every home is unique, just as every individual is unique; each has their own safety needs. Here are a few work-from-home safety tips.

Work from Home Safety Tips:

• Power Management: Avoid overloading power strips with too many appliances running at the same time. In a home office environment, devices such as printers, cell phone chargers, and space heaters should be powered from a source other than the same place as your PC, laptop, or monitors.

• Secure Office Property: Equipment, including fax machines, printers, scanners, computers, and other materials, may be attractive cyber targets if left unsecured.

• Ventilation: Make sure equipment is run where there is adequate ventilation. A computer tower left on the carpet or a laptop left on a comforter has a higher chance of overheating or starting a fire.

• Privacy and Personal Safety: Use discretion when meeting with new clients outside of your space. If you’re having a meeting or going to a meeting, make sure someone knows where you are and who you’re meeting with.

Don’t Neglect Home Security

When working from home, your best bet is to cast a wider net when addressing potential safety measures. The most effective net is to partner with a professionally monitored home security company, such as Brinks Home™.

Once the home is monitored, this will help support the safety measures you have already taken. A complete approach to securing your home, including your home office, is as follows:

• Equip your property with smart home security.

  • Have a professional install your home security system.

  • Use indoor and outdoor cameras so that you have a view of your entire property from your office.

  • Install motion sensors that will alert you if anyone is wandering around the yard.

  • Schedule smart home devices to trigger based on a schedule, simulating someone being home while you are away.

• Take precautions to secure office equipment.

  • Have window treatments that hide what’s in your office so valuables can’t be seen. You can also equip windows with sensors to be alerted if a window opens unexpectedly.

  • Keep an inventory of equipment and have a way of identifying this property if it goes missing, such as having serial or identification numbers saved for important equipment.

• Avoid vulnerabilities that unknown persons might use.

  • Use caution with people who are delivering items. Make sure they can identify themselves and state who they are. Doorbell cameras can be installed to provide visibility to a visitor, two-way communication without opening the door, and recorded proof of the interaction if it is ever needed.

  • Install quality doors and deadbolts on all exterior doors and use them.

  • Make sure your foliage is trimmed so that the house can be seen, and no one can hide behind foliage.

• Be prepared if an actual emergency does occur:

  • Keep a cell phone nearby with emergency contact information.

• Review your homeowner insurance policy and have a rider to cover your home office. Most companies make you take out a rider for the home, and you want to be covered for whatever happens.

Ready to learn more about home security options? Whatever your needs, contact us at Brinks Home to speak with a Security Consultant, and find out more about professional installation, 24/7/365 professional monitoring, and an Alarm Response Center that is Five-diamond certified by The Monitoring Association®.