<p><em>By <span class="bold">Rustom Mody</span></em></p>.<p>Welcome to the latest edition of <em>English that works: developing communication skills for everyday interactions</em>. Thank you to those who responded to our survey from the last article. We received over a dozen in the first few hours!</p>.<p>Nowadays more and more people are working remotely. <span class="bold">Although </span>we may be happy to stay in the comfort of our own homes, we should remember that our workplaces have usually been designed specifically for work,<span class="bold"> unlike</span> our homes. <span class="bold">If</span> you have to spend eight hours every day in front of a computer, long-term remote working may put a lot of physical and mental strain on you <span class="bold">because </span>you may not have the right setup, so here are some things to help!</p>.<p>1 Invest in peripherals, such as a computer monitor, keyboard, headset and mouse. These will enable you to look at a larger screen that is further away from your eyes and at the right height.</p>.<p>2 Set up an ergonomic workstation. This means arranging furniture and devices <span class="bold">so that </span>you can use them as efficiently and comfortably as possible. Find a chair with an upright back that supports you and put your computer on a<br />desk. It’s important for everything to be at the right level, <span class="bold">so</span> use cushions on the chair or put books under your screen to raise it. It might be tempting to lounge on your sofa <span class="bold">while </span>working on your laptop, <span class="bold">but </span>if you do this for hours on end every day, you may strain various muscles in your body.</p>.<p>3 In an office, we tend to move around a lot, <span class="bold">whereas </span>at home we stay stuck in front of our computers for hours at a time. So, don’t forget to take frequent breaks, even if it’s just a few seconds to stand up and stretch your joints.</p>.<p>4 Instead of sitting, try working at your computer <span class="bold">while </span>standing. Place your arms by your side and look for a surface that is level with your elbows. Put your laptop on it <span class="bold">and</span> spend some time standing and working. Changing your posture regularly will help avoid muscle strain.</p>.<p>5 <span class="bold">If </span>you have to attend long online meetings, join the meetings from your phone. You can then move around while listening instead of being rooted in one spot. I have a colleague who uses a pedometer to count the thousands of steps she completes each day during meetings!</p>.<p>6) Finally, if you are a team member, encourage your colleagues to improve their own workstations: to vary their postures and take regular breaks, <span class="bold">so that</span> your whole team can work from home as safely as possible.</p>.<p>Look at the words in <span class="bold">bold</span>. These are conjunctions. They can come at the start or middle of a sentence and enable us to combine two ideas into a single sentence, making our communication smoother. Use some of these conjunctions to let us know if you have any other tips for remote working, at <span class="bold">englishthatworks@deccanherald.co.in.</span></p>
<p><em>By <span class="bold">Rustom Mody</span></em></p>.<p>Welcome to the latest edition of <em>English that works: developing communication skills for everyday interactions</em>. Thank you to those who responded to our survey from the last article. We received over a dozen in the first few hours!</p>.<p>Nowadays more and more people are working remotely. <span class="bold">Although </span>we may be happy to stay in the comfort of our own homes, we should remember that our workplaces have usually been designed specifically for work,<span class="bold"> unlike</span> our homes. <span class="bold">If</span> you have to spend eight hours every day in front of a computer, long-term remote working may put a lot of physical and mental strain on you <span class="bold">because </span>you may not have the right setup, so here are some things to help!</p>.<p>1 Invest in peripherals, such as a computer monitor, keyboard, headset and mouse. These will enable you to look at a larger screen that is further away from your eyes and at the right height.</p>.<p>2 Set up an ergonomic workstation. This means arranging furniture and devices <span class="bold">so that </span>you can use them as efficiently and comfortably as possible. Find a chair with an upright back that supports you and put your computer on a<br />desk. It’s important for everything to be at the right level, <span class="bold">so</span> use cushions on the chair or put books under your screen to raise it. It might be tempting to lounge on your sofa <span class="bold">while </span>working on your laptop, <span class="bold">but </span>if you do this for hours on end every day, you may strain various muscles in your body.</p>.<p>3 In an office, we tend to move around a lot, <span class="bold">whereas </span>at home we stay stuck in front of our computers for hours at a time. So, don’t forget to take frequent breaks, even if it’s just a few seconds to stand up and stretch your joints.</p>.<p>4 Instead of sitting, try working at your computer <span class="bold">while </span>standing. Place your arms by your side and look for a surface that is level with your elbows. Put your laptop on it <span class="bold">and</span> spend some time standing and working. Changing your posture regularly will help avoid muscle strain.</p>.<p>5 <span class="bold">If </span>you have to attend long online meetings, join the meetings from your phone. You can then move around while listening instead of being rooted in one spot. I have a colleague who uses a pedometer to count the thousands of steps she completes each day during meetings!</p>.<p>6) Finally, if you are a team member, encourage your colleagues to improve their own workstations: to vary their postures and take regular breaks, <span class="bold">so that</span> your whole team can work from home as safely as possible.</p>.<p>Look at the words in <span class="bold">bold</span>. These are conjunctions. They can come at the start or middle of a sentence and enable us to combine two ideas into a single sentence, making our communication smoother. Use some of these conjunctions to let us know if you have any other tips for remote working, at <span class="bold">englishthatworks@deccanherald.co.in.</span></p>