Working from home - the new norm. So what to wear and a Dappered work space?

[DocDave]

My office, like most offices I suspect, has transitioned to a 100% work from home environment. In the past I have worked from home an average of one day a week, not five. This brings up an interesting challenge sartorially. What to do/how to dress.

What are you guys doing? For those of you who work from home on a regular basis, how do you approach your attire? I am wearing what I would term 'comfy' clothes on a regular basis.

Also what are you doing around a Dappered work space? Have you carved out a spot of your house for a proper desk, chair, monitor, etc.? I have just camped out on the couch. The cat appreciates the couch for an office since she has a lap to sleep on. Curious to know what others are doing.

Thank you.

[motosacto]

My office, like most offices I suspect, has transitioned to a 100% work from home environment. In the past I have worked from home an average of one day a week, not five. This brings up an interesting challenge sartorially. What to do/how to dress.

What are you guys doing? For those of you who work from home on a regular basis, how do you approach your attire? I am wearing what I would term 'comfy' clothes on a regular basis.

Also what are you doing around a Dappered work space? Have you carved out a spot of your house for a proper desk, chair, monitor, etc.? I have just camped out on the couch. The cat appreciates the couch for an office since she has a lap to sleep on. Curious to know what others are doing.

Thank you.

I have been WFH for 2 weeks now. I have a desk with an extra monitor and such so it’s kind of like a cube at work. My desk chair is meh, but it’s ok otherwise.

Attire is comfy but real clothing - rugby shirt and denim or khaki chinos. I’m not really a bathrobe and sweats guy. I do own a Pendleton Westerly sweater (the Dude), but I am saving it for (more) desperate times.

[CK83]

I like it! A bit of group therapy. Unfortunately I developed a slight fever earlier this week, which persisted until yesterday...now a cough is coming on...I know. So, in light of that, my Dappered work space has been sequestering myself to the basement, away from the rest of my family. Luckily I have a finished basement, complete with a little desk nook with a vintage style desk, antiqued bronze lamp, pheasant feather pen my wife got for me back when we were dating, and a sign that says "Work hard and Be NICE". It works for now. I've got my hand sanitizer, masks, and kleenex box all handy. Also, I have a nice basement bar that I built by hand in case of emergencies like this!

As for clothes, wearing anything that is comfortable and easy to wash on a regular basis. Traveler jeans and North Face fleece this morning. I really do think there is something to getting yourself ready in the morning and wearing work appropriate clothes to put you in the work mindset. I do this normally and will again when I'm feeling 100%. Something like khakis and chunky cardigan, wouldn't go full suit or sport coat. I used to work maybe 1 day from home every couple of weeks. But at a previous job, I had worked from home probably 85% of the time. It can be really easy to get into a routine where you blur the lines of work/personal time, and it can drain you. Best I can advise is keep your routine as normal as possible. Do a hard shutdown when you are done for the day, and try to stay productive!

Stay well all. And for those concerned, I really do feel OK. Doctor advised me to stay at home and I am low risk for coronavirus infection, so I don't meet requirements to be swabbed. Which at this time in my area (St. Louis, MO) are a fever, cough, shortness of breath AND exposure to a known case or previous travel to a high risk location.

[mebejoseph]

I've been working from home for over a year now. I usually wear jeans or chinos, a polo or henley, and one of several pairs of shoes I have dedicated to inside use only. I sometimes wear a cardigan if I feel chilly. Maybe I over-do it, but getting dressed gives me a bit of a separation between work and non-work.

Where I've let myself go is that I only shave a couple of times a week and some days I don't bother to comb my hair.

I have an extra bedroom set up as a proper office with file cabinets, two identical desks in the corner in an L-shape, a full tower computer, and three monitors. Also, a 42 inch television on the wall over the monitors. I got myself a very good Steel Case chair from a used office supply store ($400 for a used chair is pretty spendy, but it has been a back-saver). And a lot less than the $2,000 chair they bought me at my old firm after my back surgery. Man, I miss that chair.

It also has a small Moroccan style bed, left over from when this room was decorated in a full-on Moroccan style and I used the room mostly for naps and meditation--and a place for friends to crash if they over-indulged at one of our house parties. I still nap and meditate there on occasion, but I don't let guests in the room because attorney-client privilege, you know?

But the office is always a mess and far from Dappered. In the rest of the house, especially my clothes closet, I am a super organizer--but not the office.

But I'm working on it! I promise.

I have a few of these nifty Bisely cabinets that I'm in the process of organizing with my paper clips, staplers, memory sticks, pens, binder clips, and other office supplies:

https://www.containerstore.com/s/bis...00332&q=bisley

[mebejoseph]

I like it! A bit of group therapy. Unfortunately I developed a slight fever earlier this week, which persisted until yesterday...now a cough is coming on...I know.

Shit--sorry--take care of yourself. It sounds like you'll be okay. Cheers to that!

But at a previous job, I had worked from home probably 85% of the time. It can be really easy to get into a routine where you blur the lines of work/personal time, and it can drain you. Best I can advise is keep your routine as normal as possible. Do a hard shutdown when you are done for the day, and try to stay productive!

Same. When your office is 15 feet away from your office, and you get paid by the hour (I'm a lawyer), it's just too easy to work too much. Bad for your health.

[LesserBlackDog]

Dressing has been less of a problem for me than trying to figure out how I'm going to make my space work as an office.

I live in a 1 bed, 1 bath "luxury" "loft-style" condo. I've basically got one open room that is my kitchen/dining/living space and then a little hallway that goes off to my bathroom and bedroom. Not really any good space to put a dedicated office. There is a little nook in the hallway that could theoretically be a spot for a little desk and office space, but I've already put up a wire shelving unit and use that as a pantry/storage space. The one big room is pretty much occupied by various furnishings/furniture.

Right now I've got my work laptop on my dining room/kitchen table. I'm sitting on a wood dining chair which is killing my butt to sit on for long periods. It kinda stinks and I'm not sure what to do, as I don't have a desk or an office chair or anything here at home, and no good place to put them even if I had them. Sigh.

At least I deep-cleaned my house this past Christmas so the overall space is pleasant to be in, even if it's not really set up for working.

I really like my house for most purposes but it would sure be nice to have a spare bedroom to set up a little office and a little "gym" (workout space). Of course, back when I bought my condo I figured I didn't need much because I could go out and access everything I needed elsewhere. Obviously we are all operating from a different mindset now that there is no more "elsewhere."

[abh159]

I've been WFH full time for a few weeks now and was doing do it once or twice a week before covid.

Regarding a desk / work-space set up.. we do have a desk and extra monitor upstairs, but my wife is also working from home so she laid claim to that spot early on. Therefore, I've been rotating between the couch and our kitchen table with just my laptop and wireless mouse.

As for clothes I've pretty much been in either gym shorts and t-shirts (when it's been warm) or sweatpants/joggers and a long sleeve t (when it's been cool). I get that some people need to put on "work" clothes to get in a work mindset, but my level of focus isn't impacted by the clothes I'm wearing so I don't really see the point in putting on chinos, jeans, button downs, etc just to wear around the house. Plus it helps to cut down on the amount of laundry I'm having to do so that has been a nice perk.

[CK83]

[QUOTE=mebejoseph;320195]Shit--sorry--take care of yourself. It sounds like you'll be okay. Cheers to that!

I appreciate it. I really do feel well, and progressing in the right direction. I have no reason to necessarily think coronavirus other than that is all you hear about right now. I do wish testing were more widely available, as I'd just like to know. Not for myself so much, but to protect and inform others if it does happen to be that. It basically leaves you with, if you have ANY symptoms, assume it's the COVID and stay away from people for two weeks minimum.

[hockeysc23]

I used to work from home 2-3 days a week, then it went back to hardly ever ... and then in light of the new situations I've been home for 2+weeks. When we moved into our house I had a contractor turn the formal living room into an office and give some space back to the family room.

In there I've got a nice for me setup. 29" monitor for my MBP/personal computer. 24" for my client laptop. I've then setup a small electric standing desk that has my company computer plus 2 24" monitors

Since I get work done on all three computers, I am constantly moving around from sit to stand, etc.

As for clothes, I did mostly sweats the first two weeks. Then trying to alternate to chinos etc. every now and then. I haven worn a shirt with a collar in weeks. To me there is no point and just creates extra laundry.

[mcadamsandwich]

Great timing, I've recently started working from home and added a little workstation to our bonus room.

[mebejoseph]

Right now I've got my work laptop on my dining room/kitchen table. I'm sitting on a wood dining chair which is killing my butt to sit on for long periods. It kinda stinks and I'm not sure what to do, as I don't have a desk or an office chair or anything here at home, and no good place to put them even if I had them. Sigh.

My wife is using the same set up you are and with the same results in regard to her butt.

She got this and she says it fixed the problem:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

She loves it.

[DocDave]

Well I am definitely going to move my office. I have been working in the living room, just off the kitchen. This location works well for 90% of the date. The remaining 10% is when the wife decides to use the kitchen for lunch or what-have-you. And the law of averages means she is doing that when I am on a conference call. So tomorrow I will banish myself to the basement.

The basement isn't bad. Just not as nice as the upstairs.

Dress wise, I am still in comfy clothes. Nothing like a bathrobe. More like comfy pants from the Gap and a JC sweater.

[MENTION=19634]CK83[/MENTION] Yikes! Take care of yourself. Glad to hear of your positive attitude though. I think that's half the battle right there. Cheers.

[Tacitus]

I'm in a fairly small one-bedroom, so my desk is in the corner of the bedroom. I don't love the setup (especially after having a second bedroom which served as a home office in my previous place), but I have dual monitors and a good chair, so it's not too bad in practice.

YMMV but I find that showering and putting on pants and a shirt gets me more focused than sitting around in gym shorts/sweats.

[julius12]

1. When I decide what to wear, it always has to be functional first, stylish second.

2. My work mentality is not tied to my clothes. I can be just as focused wearing shorts and a t-shirt in bed fighting off sleep at 2am.

Because of these 2 factors, I don't dress up when I work from home. If I did, I would feel like I'm just playing dress up, and it would probably be distracting as I'd keep thinking "why the hell am I so dressed up at home?". Besides, I don't see the point of unnecessarily wearing out nice going-out clothes.

[MIS997]

I’m still working at the office, but we’ve limited our customer interaction, so they’re allowing us to go casual. I said “screw it” for a few days when things were feeling really uncertain, but I’m carrying on now and going back to my normal wardrobe, minus the tie since it’s been pretty warm in Dallas the past few days. It just feels normal, and I need that.

Sid Mashburn wrote about working from home in his semi-regular “Hey Sid!” article.

https://www.sidmashburn.com/hey-sid