It's been quite a while since many of us were sent to work from home at the start of the pandemic and plenty of us are still there years later. And if, like me, there's every chance you're still using the same kit as you were in the first lockdown.
Well that was actually until very recently when I invested in a swanky mechanic keyboard (well worth it, you use it every day) and now I got the chance to try out the Go Work Wireless Headphones from JLab. If you're working from home you're going to be spending a lot of time on hangouts and the Go Works (available for £44.99 from Amazon) are designed especially for the Zoom generation. This is pretty much all of us nowadays, let's be honest.
The pair of over-the-ear headphones connect via Bluetooth and boast 45-plus hour battery life, flip-down boom microphone and quick mute button with LED indicator. They charge using USB-C and a cable is provided, but you also get a handy USB-C to 3.5mm aux cable as well which can be used for wired use if your battery gets low.
The headset is comfy with padded ear cups and I found I could wear them for a long period of time without getting earache. What sets them apart from the rest, though, is the LED indicator which means you will never be caught on mute again. It is a physical button you press that mutes your mic, shown by a red LED light at the end of your boom. It's very cool and works great.
You can connect the headphones to two devices at once (say, a computer and a phone) and switch between them pretty easily, which is also a nice function.
I did have some trouble, however, getting the headset to work with Google hangouts. This may well be down to the Windows 10 operation system I still have running on my work computer rather than anything to do with JLab. After a day trying to find the right settings in several different menus (be that system or on Chrome) I finally got to ther happy situation of people hearing me and me hearing them. At one point connecting the headphones stopped YouTube from working!
I still have no idea how I managed that. Again, I wouldn't hold this against the Go Works as a) they worked seamlessly with Mac OS and IOS and b) jumping onto the web to find a quick solution tipped me off that it was more down to my computer than anything else.
Once set up everything works smoothly without any drama. Quality is good enough on input and output, certainly for work purposes, but you won't be ripping them off your head if you want to listen to some tunes while tapping away. They are designed for meetings and this is when they shine.
The Go Work Wireless Headset is an inexpensive 'next level' choice for a workplace headphone. The long battery life - coupled with the wired option - means you will be hard-pressed to get caught out, the mute function is really nice and they are comfy enough for long stints. For the price, they take care of business.
