10/04/2025
Five tips you should know when working from home as a doctor
By Daniel Pye
Around half of NHS staff spend at least some of their time working from home - here are some tips to work comfortably and safely when you are working away from the clinical environment.
In the 2023 NHS staff survey, 51% of respondents spent at least some of their time working from home and 18% said that they worked remotely often or always.1
Although doctors still predominantly work in a traditional healthcare setting, technology means that some aspects of the job - such as over-the-phone consultations, training modules and paperwork - can be done from another location, depending on employer and legal requirements.
Here is what you need to create a good work-from-home space that helps you work efficiently and effectively.
1. Maintain good posture
The last thing you need in a busy week is a back problem from poor posture when working for long periods on a computer.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) gives advice on how to work safely from home when spending extended times looking at a screen.2
Workers should relax their shoulders and have their lower back and feet supported. Their eye level should be at the top of the screen, with wrists straight and equal pressure applied across their thighs. The screen should be about an arm’s length away. If using a laptop, the screen may need to be elevated and the worker may need to use a separate keyboard and mouse to maintain a straight posture.
A remote worker does not necessarily need office furniture to achieve a good posture, the HSE advice states. A cushion might be needed to raise the worker’s seated position or for additional back support to provide extra comfort and support for longer-term use.
The HSE recommends walking away from your screen for 5-10 minutes every hour to reduce static postures.
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2. Create a professional workspace
It is important for doctors to maintain a professional environment that works as an extension of their clinical workplace. It may be helpful for workers to clear their desk, leaving only essential items.
In response to a Doctors.net.uk forum post about what clinicians think is essential for a good work-from-home space, one said: “Clear desk space on which to spread out all your junk you need. Easy access to plug sockets for any computer. Make sure your tech works before you start so can log on to all systems needed.”
Another doctor said that “privacy and security” were the most basic things to get right in a work-from-home space: “If you are working you should be contactable by all who would be able to contact you if you were at your employer's premises, but you don't want your home landline or personal mobile phone number available to all at your workplace. So you need a work phone.
“And you don't want work stuff on your personal computer, and you don't want work IT to have access to your personal computer. So you need a work laptop.”
Being mindful of your background by testing out the laptop camera before starting calls may help with maintaining professionalism.
3. Choose the best furniture for you
One doctor called a good chair “absolutely essential”. The best chair depends on multiple factors, such as the user’s height, the length of their torso and if they have a disability. What may be ergonomic for one person may be uncomfortable for another, so it is best to try a range before buying.
Standing to work, while trendy, may not provide health benefits to everyone over prolonged sitting. A recent study from Australia, which used accelerometer data from 83,013 adults over several years, concluded that “increasing standing time as a prescription may not lower major CVD risk and may lead to higher orthostatic circulatory disease risk”.3
However, previously another study had found that interrupting sitting time with bouts of light or moderate intensity walking may lower postprandial glucose and insulin levels.4 So adjustable sit-stand desks and incorporating movement into your workday offer promise.
4. Take regular breaks and keep to a routine
The NHS released guidance for the public on how to work effectively from home through its Every Mind Matters platform.5
It recommends sticking to a “steady schedule” to avoid blurring the lines between work and personal time. “Follow your normal sleep and work patterns if you can, and stay consistent,” it states. The guidance adds that the time normally spent commuting could be used for exercising, reading or listening to music before logging in and starting work.
“Most importantly, when your workday ends, stop working,” it states. “Shut down your computer, stop checking emails and focus on your home life.”
The guidance recommends taking 5-to-10-minute breaks every hour, and for lunch and regular screen breaks to aid focus. Regular time outside and in green space is “great” for your mental health, it says.
5. Know your rights
Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations can apply to workers who work at home on a permanent or long-term basis, or routinely split their time between their workplace and home. Any employee who uses display screens daily for continuous periods of an hour or more will be classified as DSE workers. This does not apply to workers who use DSE occasionally or for short periods of time at home.
If you qualify, you can complete a self-assessment form provided by the HSE, which employers can then use to decide if you need additional equipment when working at home. When a DSE workstation assessment indicates that an employee needs equipment, the worker cannot be charged for this.
This article is presented for general interest - doctors should refer to their employer’s guidance when working from home.
References
NHS Staff Survey 2023. NHS staff survey national results. Accessed December 2024
Health and Safety Executive. Working with display screen equipment at home. Accessed December 2024
Ahmadi M N, Coenen P et al. Device-measured stationary behaviour and cardiovascular and orthostatic circulatory disease incidence. Int J Epidemiol 2024;53:dyae136 [full text]
Dunstan D W, Kingwell B A et al. Breaking up prolonged sitting reduces postprandial glucose and insulin responses. Diabetes Care 2012;35:976-983 [full text]
NHS. Every Mind Matters. 6 simple tips to tackle working from home. Accessed December 2024
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