Master working from home tech for 2024 with these tech essentials

As more of us work from a home office, we increasingly need better working from home tech like wireless keyboards and high-res monitors to help us stay comfortable and productive. It’s been something of a workplace revolution, to put it mildly.

But whereas companies big and small would normally have the most say over your work area – now it’s mostly down to you. And that means making sure your home office tech is up to the job and looking after your comfort.

Essential working from home tech for 2024 at a glance

• Best affordable laptop for working from home: Acer Aspire 3 15.6-Inch Laptop - View at Currys
• Best monitor for working from home: ASUS VP32UQ Eye Care Monitor - View at Laptop Outlet
• Best keyboard for working from home: Microsoft Wireless Comfort Desktop 5050 - View at Amazon
• Best headset for working from home: Logitech H390 Wired Headset with Noise-Cancelling Microphone - View at Amazon

We’ve looked at everything, from the right monitor for home working to support your workflow to the most ergonomic keyboards and comfortable headsets for virtual meetings. We’ve also included recommendations for plenty of extras, like external storage for taking your files between home and office and even ways to boost your wifi signal if your home office has flaky reception. And let’s not forget those home office comforts. Your monitor stand, desk and chair choices will affect your posture, so spend time making the right choice.

Get all of these things right for you, and you’ll be working more efficiently and comfortably, and your productivity will get a boost too. Plus, your home office will look the part – after all, it’s still your home at the end of the working day. As home office veterans, the What’s The Best team has put together some essential home working tech to help your working day go smoothly.

All prices are correct at the time of writing. Prices, stock and deals are subject to change without notice.

Essential working from home tech: Your computer

Unless your job requires you to have a full-size tower PC at home, our top choice for computers for working from home is laptops. Not only will the best laptops take up less space in your home, but you can work from anywhere if your job requires going into another office or visiting clients.

While many companies provide their staff with a laptop, plenty of us still work for ourselves or get a laptop from our employer. So, here’s a couple of picks to consider. Both offer eye care features (like low blue light mode) to keep you working in comfort.

Don't forget a laptop stand

Lastly, to work comfortably from home on a laptop you’ll need a great laptop stand. These can be raised to a sensible height for your head and neck and also match the height of a second separate monitor if you have one.

Essential working from home tech: Peripherals

Monitor

As the centrepiece of your desk, getting a great deal on a monitor for home working that looks great and performs brilliantly is a top priority. But why invest in a separate monitor if your laptop has a nice enough screen? Well, you can go large. If you’re frustrated by only having one small screen to juggle all those windows and documents, a separate monitor or two can open up your workspace. No more switching between windows just to copy and paste between them – now you can see it all at once.

Plus, even many budget monitors offer an improvement in resolution, eye care features and other enhancements over and above the standard laptop display. Here are our recommendations for adding extra screen real estate to your home office setup.

Keyboard

Although many laptops come with a decent keyboard, most of us will prefer a full-size wireless keyboard that will be more comfortable to type on. If you’re thinking of putting your laptop on a stand, a separate keyboard is essential. Even with some of thebest budget keyboards, you’ll find you have more options and features to choose from, like programmable keys or ergonomic layouts. Here is our top recommendation for both ergonomic comfort and quiet operation.

Mouse

The humble mouse is often a bit of an afterthought. But a responsive computer mouse is one of the most essential pieces of working from home tech in terms of precision and comfort. A poorly designed mouse can lead to the dreaded wrist ache or worse. That aside, the right mouse can improve your accuracy with applications and provide extras like programmable buttons to enhance your productivity.

Headset

Most of us home workers will need to have those remote collaborative team meetings - and that means listening and speaking clearly without background noise getting in the way. And there’s nothing worse than being in a long virtual chat if you’re stuck with the uncomfortable earpods you got with your mobile phone or that cheap over-ear headphone and mic. We’ve picked out a couple of great home-working headset options depending on which fit you prefer.

PC speakers

Surely having speakers on your desktop is a bit of a non-essential? Not necessarily. Anyone who needs decent sound for their work - such as video or media creatives - will need them. But what if you like to listen to your favourite tunes or podcasts while you work? Either way, a pair of attractive USB speakers will sound great and bring a premium look to your setup. And if you’re stuck for space, a compact soundbar will do the job for many.

External storage

If your work involves many large files, like photography, video and other creative media, you’ll soon hit the upper limit of your laptop storage. That’s where an external drive comes in. Depending on your needs, particularly if you need to take that data away, you have a couple of options. An external Solid State Drive can store much more and work at lightning-fast speeds. At the same time, a small USB stick is great for the ultimate in data portability.

Webcam

Most laptops have a built-in webcam, but what if yours isn’t quite good enough? Or perhaps you’re working on a separate monitor and want to position your camera closer to your eyeline as you’re working? An external USB webcam is the answer - here’s one of our top picks.

Printer

No home office is complete without a printer - even in this age of paperless bills and email. The day will come when you need to print something out. Whether that’s an electronic postage label for that business purchase or some reports that need to be read around a table instead of at a screen. Even a good but cheap printer will probably do the trick.

Our recommendation here favours affordable and reliable printing and scanning in a sensibly sized all-in-one device. It’s the right size to fit on the end of a good-sized desk, but if you need to put it somewhere else, it’s a wireless printer too.

Essential working from home tech: Extra gadgets

Even the most complete home office needs a few extra bells and whistles. Here are some essential working from home tech gadgetry to solve the most common issues.

Wifi range extender

Having trouble with your home wifi connection in your home office? Perhaps the room you’re working from is just too far from the router, or maybe you have a house with thicker walls and other obstructions? You can cheaply and easily boost the range of your home router with a wifi range extender. It’ll simply plug into a power socket, pick up the wifi signal and boost it for better strength at greater distances.

Power extension

All this new tech needs power, and if you’ve added a monitor or two, a printer, a lamp and more, you could soon find yourself running short on sockets. Nothing is more frustrating halfway through your working day than crawling underneath your desk to swap plugs around.

Ring doorbell with Amazon Echo Show

You hear a knock at the door and grudgingly leave your computer to see who’s there - only to find it’s not that important visitor or delivery after all. With these two gadgets, you can instantly see who’s at the door and speak to them if needed. And that means you won’t have to keep breaking off from your work several times daily. Trust us - it’s a game changer for home working.

Essentials for working from home in comfort

Comfort is often another home office oversight. After all, that small desk and chair pinched from the dining room hadn’t been a problem before. Well, with full-time working from home, they will soon start to hurt your posture. Here are the key things to look after to make sure your ergonomic desk setup is comfortable enough for you.

Monitor stands and mounts

Many monitors come with good integrated stands that have height and tilt adjustments. But if you find you need more height for comfort, a monitor arm stand is your best option. We recommend the arm mount type, as these clamp to the back of your desk which frees up more space on the desktop itself.  And if you are going for a dual monitor setup you can also get dual monitor stands that work the same way for mounting two monitors at once.

Lamps

Good lighting is key to a comfortable workspace. LED desk lamps offer the most flicker-free and cleanest quality of light on the market. Depending on your preference, these can even change colour temperature - so if you like neutral daylight or a warmer or bluer tone you can adjust it to suit. Lighting your keyboard and working area will also help with eye strain.

Desks and chairs

Choosing the right home office desk and chair are really the cornerstone of your home office setup. A desk that’s not deep enough or a chair that makes you slump will soon give you a hard time at work. Check out our guide to the best chairs for your home office, with recommendations to suit various needs.

As for desks, they should be high enough to allow you to sit with your head and neck parallel to your monitor, and your legs should fit underneath with your thighs parallel to the floor. And make sure the desk is deep enough to allow you to use the keyboard with enough wrist support and sit a sensible distance from your screens.

Finishing touches

With all of your kit set up, your home office decor will make it feel much more like your home than an office. A plant can bring some life to all that plastic, and your choice of desk and chair can really make a difference to the look of the room.

All in all, getting the working from home tech that keeps you comfortable, productive and happy in your home office is easy to do - our recommendations are a starting point for making working from home really work for you.

Essential working from home tech for 2024: FAQs

What is the best computer for working from home?

As mentioned above, we think that the best computer for working from home is a laptop. Compact enough to travel between home and a remote working location or when visiting clients, they’ll also pack away neatly and require less space in your home. Key considerations though are a desk or stand to make working on a laptop for long hours comfortable.

How can I work from home without a desk?

Working from home without a desk isn’t recommended as not having enough room to sit and type comfortably can lead to neck, wrist and back pain, not to mention eye strain. That said, not all of us have the space for a proper office desk at home. In that case, you can always use a laptop stand and a separate keyboard and mouse on your kitchen table, or even a foldaway table as long as you can sit comfortably at it.

Does my employer have to provide equipment to work from home?

Current legislation in the UK states that employers are required to provide the equipment and other technologies that are needed for staff to carry out their role. But, that doesn’t mean you’ll have the kind of choice you might wish for. You might have set your sights on a mechanical keyboard or professional mouse costing hundreds of pounds, but your employer is really only expected to meet a minimum standard for those employees who don’t have preexisting medical needs. So, if you want to upgrade or just want to set up your own home office tech, our list is here to help.

Chris Duffill is a Tech Product Writer for What's The Best. His background includes writing, editorial, marketing, design, video production and photography.

He specialises in home entertainment and audiovisual tech, including speakers, amplifiers, turntables, streaming media players, and TVs. He is also one of our resident experts in computing (PCs, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches), DSLR photography and all kinds of digital cameras. He also writes about retro gaming, game consoles and various electronic gadgets. If it plugs in, lights up or makes a noise, he’ll write about it.

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