Common Home Office Essentials

With work-from-home opportunities becoming more prevalent, creating a functional home office space is an important task. To help, we’ve put together a list of the best home office essentials.

These items are sure to enhance your productivity and increase your comfortability while working remotely. From break reminder tools to focus apps, these home office essentials are sure to make a difference in your day-to-day workflow.

1. Ergonomic Chair

The most obvious office essential for any home workspace is a comfortable chair. Whether you have a dedicated workstation or need to make do with a table, counter, or couch, a good chair is crucial for keeping your back supported while you’re hunched over a computer all day.

Ideally, look for an ergonomic design with a breathable fabric or mesh seat. Otherwise, you’ll be sweating your ass off by the end of the workday.

Our favorite, the Steelcase Leap, costs a lot more than most budgets can bear, but it does boast one of the highest comfort ratings of any chair we’ve tested. If that’s too steep, the Steelcase Series 2 is a close second. Both offer impressive adjustability and lumbar support. Many of these chairs also come with casters to help them glide more smoothly on hardwood floors.

2. External Camera

The work-from-home lifestyle offers a wealth of benefits, but transforming an entire room into an efficient home office requires more than just a comfortable desk. The right tools can help boost productivity and keep you healthy while working remotely. A desk pad is a simple yet effective addition—it not only protects your workspace but also creates a clean, defined area that supports focus and organization throughout the day.

One essential item is an external camera, which helps to enhance virtual collaboration and create near-real face-to-face communication experiences. For businesses and individuals alike, this is a must-have for remote meetings, content creation, and more. With high-quality video, you can see your participants clearly without worrying about audio or visual interference. An additional monitor is also useful for reviewing footage and perfecting shots.

3. Memory Foam Chair Cushion

Working from home can be tiring, but small ergonomic changes make a big difference in comfort and productivity. Keeping your work area decluttered is also important, as it can improve focus and reduce distractions.

If you spend a lot of time in your chair, consider purchasing a seat cushion to relieve tailbone pain and back and spine strain. Several options are available, including memory foam and gel cushions.

This memory foam and gel cushion conforms to your body shape, providing support and reducing pressure points. Its breathable cover disperses heat, helping you stay cool and comfortable. It can be used on office chairs, sofas, cars, airplane seats, and wheelchairs. It’s also machine-washable for easy cleaning. It comes in five colors.

4. Backup ISP

Having a reliable backup ISP is essential for work-from-home employees and businesses that offer online services. Without it, downtime can lead to loss of productivity and sales revenue. Additionally, customer service can suffer from delayed responses and doubts about the company’s reliability. A second ISP can minimize downtime by switching to an active network in milliseconds.

Choosing a backup option depends on an organization’s needs and location. For instance, a business in a storm-prone area may want to consider an Ethernet connection instead of cellular internet. Redundancy can also help boost performance. Load balancing across two connections prevents bandwidth waste and allows high-speed internet for demanding applications. It can also reduce the cost of operations by eliminating the need to pay for redundant services.

5. Uninterruptible Power Supply

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) aren’t a sexy purchase, but if you’ve ever lost work in a power outage or experienced data corruption because of an abrupt shutdown, then it becomes clear why these little pieces of equipment are vital to a home office setup. UPS devices monitor power and immediately switch over to battery power once they detect a loss or reduction in the primary power source.

This model can keep a home modem and router active for four hours in a blackout, enough time to check emergency services or weather updates or run software to save files and shut down a computer. It also features automatic voltage regulation, which isn’t always a given in cheaper models, and five of its 10 outlets are on battery backup.

6. Shredder

Whether you’re self-employed or telecommuting for your employer, chances are you have plenty of paper documents in your possession that contain sensitive information. Rather than just throwing them away or using a trash bin, consider a shredder to properly destroy your business and personal paperwork.

The best shredders will come with features to help you optimize your workflow and efficiency. Smart notifications and an app will alert you to everything from a full waste bin to paper jams and more. Many models also have the ability to shred non-paper items like credit cards and staples.

The Amazon Basics model we tested devoured stacks of paper for five minutes without a single jam. It’s capable of turning a single sheet of paper into cross cut confetti and even shreds cardboard and thick credit cards.

7. Wastepaper Basket

Keeping a home office clean and clutter-free is essential to boosting productivity and reducing distractions. Adding a wastepaper basket to your workspace helps keep things tidy and makes cleanup time much easier.

This basket is crafted with a timeless lattice design that pairs easily with any decor style. It’s also made with tree-free plant-based content, ensuring that it will last for years to come.

A waste paper basket (or trash can, garbage bin or cesto de lixo) is a container used for discarding unwanted items like empty coffee cups, non-refillable pens, and broken rubber bands. The term originated in the US around 1870 and may refer to one specifically designed for a home or business office. A variation on the term is a “paper trash can,” sometimes written as “paper trough.” The trough is similar to a basket but has a flat bottom.