The widespread move to work-from-home has changed how we work, communicate, and, in many ways, how we feel. Many of us welcomed the benefits—flexibility, no commute, and a bit more freedom. Yet, as time passes, more voices arise warning about a less visible shift: our mental health. As a management consultancy deeply involved in supporting businesses through these transitions, we at EWS Limited see firsthand just how much workplace culture and environment matter.
Brenig Moore, a respected mental health expert, highlights new findings showing that the physical workspace we create at home really shapes our wellbeing. Moore urges both employers and staff across the UK to act quickly—small adjustments in our home setups can make a real difference. Even tweaks as basic as moving your desk, clearing away clutter, or changing a single aspect of your environment can bring almost instant improvements to mood, focus, and stress.
It’s not just about where you sit, but how you feel when you sit there.
The story of remote work in the UK is still being written. During the first lockdown in 2020, almost 60% of adults worked at least partly from home, according to research by University College London. At first, this seismic shift seemed to have little negative effect. But as lockdowns dragged on, psychological distress and loneliness increased. By the end of 2020, home working was linked with sharper drops in wellbeing, especially among those juggling childcare or elder care and those dealing with complex home lives.
We have seen in our partnership with companies at EWS Limited that office workers, HR professionals, and global mobility managers alike often miss how much the physical setup at home shapes how people feel and work. Many businesses focus only on the tools, not the surroundings. But a simple question comes up now more than ever:
How does where we work at home impact how well we really feel?
Mental health specialist Brenig Moore pushes us to see our desk, chair, light, and even the clutter through a new lens. He calls for urgent but achievable changes. In our experience, even small improvements can lead to meaningful gains in both comfort and emotional wellbeing. This isn’t just theory. Real stories from our clients echo the need for practical adjustments that actually stick.
It’s easy to overlook little things—yet it’s the details that add up. Moore and recent data suggest the following simple tweaks can make a big difference:
Each action, when done mindfully, can help us feel calmer and more focused. Here’s how and why these matter.
If you ask any health expert, they’ll tell you that daylight is a medicine in itself. It resets our body clocks, boosts our mood, and sharpens alertness. People with low mood or those prone to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) during the darker months are especially affected by poor lighting and lack of sunshine, as noted throughout ONS and UCL research and confirmed by Moore’s observations in therapy rooms and workshops.
Natural light helps our brains release hormones like serotonin that fight fatigue, sadness, and stress. When sunlight is scarce, such as during UK winters, lack of it can lead to lower mood and higher levels of anxiety. In those months, adding a SAD lamp—a special lamp that mimics natural daylight—can provide part of the lift that sunlight gives. Sitting near a window, taking breaks outdoors, and maximizing light flow are little steps with real power.
This isn’t limited to those struggling with obvious mood swings. Even those who feel generally “fine” can lose energy and concentration if they spend too much time away from windows or in dim spaces. In our experience with international clients, those with the sunniest home spaces often report feeling more motivated and less tired.
Many professionals are surprised to learn that an uncomfortable desk isn’t just a pain in the neck—literally. Poor posture adds up to much more than stiff shoulders. If your screen is too low, your chair too hard, or your most-used items out of easy reach, every work session requires extra physical and mental effort. This constant strain can wear down attention and mood over the day.
Moore points to a recurring pattern: uncomfortable setups leave people “tired but wired.” We notice, too, that partners who help employees upgrade their chairs, raise their screens, and set up easier workflows see less sick leave and fewer complaints about back pain and mental fog.
The core desk setup for better wellbeing includes:
It’s not about buying the latest desk or high-end chair—often what’s needed is just stacking a few books under a monitor, moving your chair, or removing an awkward storage bin under the desk. This matches our own advice to new clients and teams, where these changes lead to a rapid decrease in complaints of headaches and eye strain.
Moore repeatedly highlights the link between a messy work area and a frazzled mind. Clutter bombards our senses with unneeded signals. Each sticky note, empty mug, or stray cable is a tiny interruption. The more things in our line of sight, the more distracted—and less peaceful—we become.
We have seen that simply clearing the desk at the end of the day, or investing in a small drawer or shelf, reduces stress. Moore urges people to “only keep what you need in plain sight,” which helps the brain settle and focus. Our own HR support programs offer advice on desk zoning—one side for active tasks, another for storage, and a small personal corner for comfort—based on similar research on workplace design.
Clutter is more than an eyesore—it’s a direct contributor to irritability, lost items, and mental overload.
What’s surprising is how quickly people feel better after tidying their work area. One of our international clients told us the simple act of putting away unused tech gear and sorting paperwork made her “feel like one weight had been lifted.” It’s this sense of control in a small domain that can ripple out to our broader mental health.
People don’t always realize that noise in a home office isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a real stress amplifier. Kids shouting, neighbors mowing the lawn, phones pinging with yet another alert. Every sound breaks focus and can raise heart rate and anxiety, as found by multiple wellness studies.
Our brains need “quiet space” as much as they need rest to recover and to be able to focus for meaningful work.
If external noise can’t easily be controlled, Moore recommends discussing options with your employer or housemates. This might include:
Many HR leaders we work with across EWS Limited now recommend workers update their workspace with soft furnishings, or they help fund equipment for noise management. When the right steps are taken, we have found employees report less fatigue from “background stress,” letting them feel calmer and do better work overall.
It’s easy to forget: our workspace isn’t just furniture—it’s where we might spend half of our waking hours. Moore encourages adding a few personal items. Plants, family photos, or favorite artwork can help build a sense of warmth, safety, and belonging. This sense of ownership matters.
We can confirm what Moore sees—small reminders of personal life can positively ground employees. For example, a manager at a mid-sized IT company in our network saw stress drop after being encouraged to decorate his workspace with a few items that made him smile each day. His feedback was clear: “Having a plant and my kids’ art nearby makes work less stressful.”
Personal elements act as subtle mood lifters and gentle anchors, reconnecting us to who we are beyond our job titles.
Unlike new tech or furniture, this solution costs next to nothing but pays off every day in comfort and better morale.
Recent studies, including University College London’s research and the Office for National Statistics’ findings, drive home that the move to remote and hybrid work brings both freedom and new risks. With 24% of adults reporting that reducing energy use at home has hurt their mental health, and ‘sandwich carers’ showing increased signs of distress, it’s clear the stakes are high. These numbers echo the push for real change—not only in how we work, but how we shape our work environments.
In our own consulting with businesses seeking to grow or go global, from Series B startups to established IT firms, these lessons aren’t just theoretical. Clients rely on us for holistic solutions, including advice on workspace wellbeing. We help HR Directors, Partner Managers, and C-level leaders grasp that supporting staff mental health involves more than policies and checklists—it reaches right into home environments and day-to-day habits. Small, targeted changes, rolled out with support, can have profound effects. For some, this means reviewing their full hybrid work strategy; for others, it’s about offering work-from-home stipends for better lighting or noise control, a topic we discuss further in our insights on work-from-home stipends.
Employers play a critical role. Moore, together with evidence from recent studies, encourages both leaders and staff not to wait for “the perfect time” to act. Even with tight budgets and uncertainty, practical steps can be taken now.
In several UK businesses we advise, sharing images or videos of “desk before and after” stories has built culture and inspired real improvements at scale.
We’ve found that meaningful change sometimes begins with small self-tests:
You don’t need a fancy home office to feel, think, and work better; you just need a few mindful tweaks.
We encourage our clients not to be hard on themselves—this isn’t a test or competition. Each workplace and each worker is different. The common theme is that we all respond deeply to our environment. As we’ve discussed in our advice on effective hybrid work models, there’s no single perfect setup, but there are countless easy wins.
Based on our daily work with global mobility managers and HR directors, we’ve seen that there’s no one-size-fits-all. Tech leads might need extra screens; relationship managers might value quiet above all; those with families nearby may need better sound management or child zone boundaries. The more each person can shape their workspace to their unique mix of tasks and personal needs, the better their odds of feeling and performing well.
For companies, this is a core part of attracting and keeping top talent. As we’ve written in our guide to recruiting and maintaining strong teams while working from home, people who feel safe, valued, and cared for at work stay longer and do better work. Mental health is at the heart of this contract between companies and their teams.
The British winter is long, the light is weak, and many home offices are cramped or makeshift. Psychological distress linked to poor workspace or lack of support is rising. With over a quarter of ‘sandwich carers’ reporting mental health issues, and loneliness among all age groups climbing, both the personal and business cases for investing in better home workspaces are clear to us.
Schools absences have doubled the risk of mental health issues in children, too, proving that household wellbeing depends on more than just adults’ work setups. Entire families are affected. That’s why simple, family-friendly workspace strategies can help employees feel stronger at work and at home.
At EWS Limited, our solutions for companies include more than payroll or compliance—we also help HR leaders and C-levels craft appropriate support systems for remote teams. This ranges from hybrid work support to stipends for critical ergonomics or mental health.
If you’re aiming to nudge your employees toward better wellbeing, we suggest looking at our guidance in our article on nudging employees to improve their well-being and performance.
It doesn’t always take a major overhaul; sometimes one well-placed tip, email, or small update can spark ongoing change.
Other creative steps include sharing personal setup tips between employees, running friendly workspace competitions, or subsidizing the purchase of SAD lamps, headphones, or chairs.
Remember, it’s okay to do this in steps. Progress, not perfection, is our goal.
As a business consultancy focused on helping enterprises thrive in the UK and globally, EWS Limited sees the act of supporting better home workspaces as an investment in both people and outcomes. Employees who feel safe and comfortable are more present, resilient, and connected—no matter their title or department.
We have learned, like Moore, that physical and mental wellbeing at home is best supported by simple, personal, and flexible practices that can be adjusted season by season and person by person. The more companies and individuals embrace this view, the healthier and more successful everyone will be.
If you’re reviewing your policies, improving your workspace, or planning ahead as your organisation grows, simple, evidence-based investments in comfort, light, organization, sound, and personalization will quietly add up to fewer sick days, happier teams, and a stronger business culture. For more practical tips on keeping engagement strong, see our post on five tips for improving employee engagement.
Brenig Moore’s advice is clear: the workspace at home really shapes our mental health, sometimes in ways we don’t notice at first. In summary, he urges us all—whether we’re business leaders, HR professionals, managers, remote employees, or carers juggling work and family—to act now. Change does not need to be costly. Even very small upgrades to light, comfort, sound, and order can spark real improvements in mood, focus, and stress.
In our view as EWS Limited, supporting workplace wellbeing fits squarely within our core purpose—to help companies and people grow together, with confidence and care. If you want to learn more about boosting mental health and creating smart, supportive home or hybrid work environments, contact us or read more on our site. Together, we can create workspaces—and workplaces—that help everyone thrive.
An ideal home office setup features natural light, an ergonomic chair, a desk with supplies within easy reach, monitor at eye level, and minimal clutter. Add personal touches such as a plant or artwork and make sure the area is quiet or equipped with sound management. This creates a balanced space for comfort, focus, and better mental wellbeing.
Working from home can help reduce commuting stress and offer flexibility, but it may also lead to isolation, loneliness, and decreased wellbeing over time—especially if the physical setup is uncomfortable or distracting. Simple environmental factors like poor lighting, noise, or clutter can impact mood, attention, and even cause psychological distress. That’s why workplace adjustments, as discussed by Brenig Moore and supported by recent studies, are so important.
To work well from home, we suggest: use natural or SAD lighting, keep your desk organized, raise monitors to eye level, use an ergonomic chair, take movement breaks, and personalize your area with meaningful items. Actively manage distractions and set clear work hours to protect work-life boundaries and mental rest.
Yes, upgrading your home office—even with small investments—can quickly reduce stress, boost focus, and improve overall wellbeing. Improvements like better lighting, comfort through proper furniture, and noise control pay off in daily work quality and long-term mental health. Many companies, like those we support at EWS Limited, now offer stipends or guidance for these improvements.
To improve focus, create a clutter-free desk, limit background noise (using headphones if needed), and keep only essential items on top. Sit near a window or use bright lighting, and set specific times to check messages. Adding personal objects that make you feel calm and happy can also help steady your mind for deep work.
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