A Gift Guide for Remote Workers

Do you have a remote worker in your life? Or are you ready to treat yourself this holiday season? These gifts are sure to make things easier, more enjoyable, or more comfortable for anyone who works for home. 

I’ve found that the best way to improve your life as a remote worker is to focus on optimizing your home office. Invest in the furniture that will support your body and the lighting and ambiance that will make your office a space you love spending time in. 

Be sure to check whether your company has a home office stipend. A lot of organizations offer $100-$500 to employees to purchase qualifying office items such as chairs, desks, monitors, and more. These often expire at the end of the year, so this is an especially important time to look into this. 

Electric Standing Desk - $100.99

It’s no surprise that a standing desk is the first item on this list. We all know that there are many negative health impacts that come from sitting all day. As of publication time, this desk is only $100 and doubles as both a sitting-height desk and a standing-height desk. It adjusts electrically so you don’t need to exert physical effort to move it up and down, and it’ll store three heights, making it even easier to switch between sitting and standing. I can’t really wrap my head around why this electric desk is cheaper than a lot of non-adjustable desks, so I’d recommend grabbing it before it’s gone!

Walking Pad - $199.97

A walking pad is another opportunity to incorporate healthy routines into your remote work lifestyle. This walking pad pairs well with an electric standing desk, because you can place the pad below your desk, elevate the desk to a standing height, and then walk while working. I find it works best to walk during calls, as I don’t love trying to type while bobbing up and down. But especially on informational calls like All-Hands or departmental meetings, where I mainly need to listen, getting a couple miles in feels amazing and helps make sure I don’t stay too sedentary all day long. 

The chair that will save your back - $899.00

Confession: I stole this chair from my office. When we went remote in 2020, I snuck into my office and brought this thing down the elevator and out into my car. And then when we moved across the country a year later it may or may not have found its way onto the moving truck. It’s just that good, and I don’t think I could ever switch to another chair at this point. It feels endlessly adjustable, and I’ve tuned every knob and lever to my exact body. The difference between working from a one-size-fits-all chair, that only adjusts vertically, and one that allows me to shift the angle, height, and motion of nearly all components cannot be overstated. I just really love this chair and recommend it to everyone looking to invest in a long-term solution to their back health as a remote worker. It’s not cheap, but I have never had a single problem with it, no piece of it has ever broken, and it has survived a lot. I don’t think I’ll need to replace it for many more years. If there is one thing in your remote lifestyle that you should definitely invest in, it’s your office chair. Your spine health is worth every penny. 

Cute and comfy foot rest - $31.96

This is a cheap, cute, adjustable item that I picked up when I was looking for ways to fill up my company’s home office stipend. I had about $50 left in the budget so I grabbed one of these and I’m so glad I did. It feels great to have my feet up while I’m working, and it is the last piece in the puzzle of the chair settings and desk height equation that makes my back feel its best. I initially thought that I liked this foot rest because I’m 5’2”, but my husband is 6’3” and he also loves this thing. I think simply put, it just feels good to put your feet up. I’m definitely getting him one for Christmas.

Curved Monitor - $299.99

If you work from home and don’t have a monitor yet, it’s time. I resisted getting one for my first couple years of remote work because I wanted the flexibility to move around my apartment, working in different locations. Once I finally got one, my work got so much easier. And I could still move around my apartment with my laptop, if I wanted to. The added virtual space makes a huge difference. I can reference one browser while typing in another, without having to squint to read a tiny font. I can have a  Zoom meeting open on my laptop, while taking notes or following my agenda on my monitor. Most importantly, I can share one of my screens on a remote meeting, while keeping private notes and reminders open on my other screen. It’s so incredibly worth it, and if you don’t have a monitor, I hope you invest in one now.

Any monitor should make a big difference in your day-to-day work, but I really love my curved monitor. I never would have bought it myself, but my husband upgraded his gaming setup and I inherited his previous curved monitor as a result. This screen makes me feel like I’m in the control center of a rocketship, hurtling through space, dodging asteroids and enemy lasers. I get a tickle of delight from using something that looks so futuristic and high-tech, even if I’m mainly only using it for Slack and email. This is one of those times where I don’t need a ton of functionality out of this tool, but the sleek, overpowered style it exudes sparks a bit of joy in me, and I say we need to seize any opportunity for joy that can come from our work. 

Lamp with USB charging ports - $37.99

The winter months can be a challenging time for any remote worker. Unless you are pretty regimented about routines that get you outdoors, it is easy to find yourself going a couple days in a row without seeing sunlight. I live in the Northeastern United States, so with Daylight Savings Time the sun sets around 4:30pm in December. I usually don’t finish my meetings until 5pm, so there is no longer any sunlight available to me after work. I could write a whole other post on how I deal with seasonal depression as a remote worker, but for now I’ll say that getting cozy, warm lighting in my office has made a huge difference for me. 

If we look to Scandinavian and other Northern cultures for guidance on mental health during winter, we’ll see that much of the pain surrounding this time of year can be rooted in resistance. In the US especially, I feel there’s a habit of denying winter, counting the days until it is over, and trying to exist in a perpetual summer. After reading Wintering by Katherine May last year, I started experimenting with leaning into winter, and embracing the built-in rest and recharge period that nature gives us. Creating a warm, glowing, cozy environment to spend our days in can give me such a mental health boost. One of the best parts of working from home is getting to control elements like lighting and furniture. I never have to work under fluorescent lighting again. A lamp like this one, with a warm-toned lightbulb, will help you feel like you’re nestling into a comfy cave. It also has two USB-charging ports, and I don’t know why, but they charge phones extremely quickly. They seem far more powerful than the regular Apple charger bricks, and when my friends come over they are always asking to charge their phones on “the fast lamp.”

Cozy candle - $19.99

Candles are another tool that I have discovered which make my winter remote days far cozier and warmer. Again, working from home means getting the privilege of crafting the environment in which you will spend most of your days. Most office buildings wouldn’t allow open flames or scent diffusers, but within the comfort of your own home, you can use things like this if you’d like to. Designing your ideal space should mean taking into account all five senses, and smell is the most deeply-rooted sense for our bodies. It bypasses the thalamus, the part of the brain that sorts and filters input, and attaches directly to memories and associations. Being thoughtful about which scents you expose yourself to is a great way to hack your emotions and immediately prime yourself with childhood memories. Create the space you most want to spend your time in, and make it smell like a wonderful memory, and your remote work winter is sure to feel warm, cozy, and enriching. 

Convertible Sofa Futon Bed - $304.99

So many remote workers try to save space by having their home office double as a guest room. For me, this meant that the 5 times a year I had overnight guests they were very comfortable. However, every day working in my office, I was awkwardly stepping around a queen sized bed that was too large for the small room. My desk was contained in the corner of the room, and most of the square footage was taken up by the bed. It’s great to gain the utility of a dual-purpose space, but inconveniencing yourself daily can take a real toll. One of the key practices of Agile is to inspect and adapt your processes, removing pain points wherever possible. I noticed that on days I was feeling stressed or burnt out, finding myself in a space that didn’t feel supportive to my work was adding a negative vibe to my whole experience. Forcing myself to be mildly inconvenienced made me feel like I wasn’t making myself a priority. 

For this reason, I gave my guest bed to a friend, and got myself this convertible sofa futon bed. It is stylish, comfortable to sit and sleep on, and takes up so much less space when it’s in its couch shape. Now, my home office feels like a trendy professional space, I have a new seat I can work from occasionally, and the space still doubles as a guest room when I need it to. I can’t emphasize enough how much it improves your mental health to spend time in a space that looks appealing and feels comfortable.

I hope this guide was helpful! Cheers to the holiday season, may it be merry, agile, and bright!