If you spend a lot of time working out of your home office, it's a good idea to invest in a proper pair of headphones. They're critical for people who work remotely as they allow you to tune out any distractions in the background and focus on your work. And while active noise cancellation is a necessity, some of the best headsets for working from home will also have a built-in microphone with clear audio that you can use during meetings and business calls. Headphones used for working should offer top-notch sound quality and comfort since you'll be wearing them for hours on end. They should also have excellent communication features for making voice calls, including any sort of video chats. Good noise reduction is key, as is being able to hear your own voice in the headphones as you talk so you don't end up shouting. Good bonus features include strong battery life and multipoint Bluetooth pairing, allowing you to switch between two devices. You may specifically be looking for a headset or headphones designed to work with Unified Communications applications and certified for Skype for Business, optimized for Microsoft Lync and suitable for softphones from Cisco, Avaya and Skype. I've included some UC headphones on this list, but the majority of these are mainstream consumer headphones that also work well on the go. We've curated this list of the best headphones for work as a tool to help you see which features each brings to the table, so you can decide which fit is best for you. Read more: Best Cheap VPN: Three Options for Working From Home David Carnoy/CNET Sony WH-1000XM5 Best new noise-canceling headphones Product details Battery Life Rated up to 32 hours Noise Canceling Yes (ANC) Multipoint Yes Headphone Type Over-ear wireless headphones Water-Resistant No IP rating When you have a product that a lot of people love, change can be risky. Such is the case for Sony's WH-1000XM5, the fifth generation of the 1000X series headphones, which were first released in 2016 as the MDR-1000X Wireless and have become increasingly popular as they've improved with each generation. Over the years, Sony has made some tweaks to the design, but nothing as dramatic as what it's done with the WH-1000XM5. Other than the higher $400 price tag ($50 more than the WH-1000XM4), most of those changes are good, and Sony's made some dramatic improvements with voice-calling performance, as well as even better noise canceling and more refined sound. You can also pick them up for around $50 off at the moment. Read our Sony WH-1000XM5 review . $348 at Amazon $350 at Best Buy $348 at Crutchfield You're receiving price alerts for Sony WH-1000XM5 David Carnoy/CNET Apple AirPods Pro 2 Even better Apple noise-canceling wireless earbuds Product details Battery Life Rated up to 6 hours Noise Canceling Yes (ANC) Multipoint No Headphone Type Wireless earbuds Water-Resistant Yes (IPX4 -- splash-proof) Available for preorder now and shipping Sept. 23, the new AirPods Pro (2nd generation) are powered by Apple's new H2 chip, which delivers more processing power while being more energy efficient, according to Apple. The new chip, combined with new low-distortion drivers, allows for improved sound that offers better clarity and depth. The noise canceling is also improved -- Apple says the new AirPods have "double" the noise canceling of the original AirPods Pro. Additionally, the new AirPods add an extra hour of battery life, up from five to six hours with noise canceling on. Plus, a speaker in the case that emits a sound that helps locate your buds via Find My should they decide to hide from you. Water-resistant : Yes (IPX4 rating -- splash-proof). Read our Apple AirPods Pro 2 review . $199 at Amazon $249 at Apple $200 at Best Buy You're receiving price alerts for Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen, White) David Carnoy/CNET Bose QuietComfort 45 Best QuietComfort from Bose The QuietComfort 45 has virtually the same design as its predecessor, the QuietComfort QC35 II , which many people considered one of the most comfortable over-ear headphones -- if not the most comfortable. (And, if comfort doesn't make them the best headphones for working, what would?) It has the same drivers, according to Bose, and the buttons are in the same place. However, there are small but notable changes. First off, these thankfully have USB-C instead of micro-USB. Secondly, the microphone configuration is different. Not only have the mics been shifted on the headphones, but there's now an extra external microphone for voice pick-up, which means the QC45 has a total of six microphones, four of which are beamforming and used for voice. By contrast, the QC35 II has a total of four, two of which are used for voice. (The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 also have six microphones total. ) The end result is these are excellent for making calls. They're similar to the Bose Headphones 700 in that regard and also feature top-notch noise canceling, as well as multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect them with a PC and your phone simultaneously. Read our full review of the QuietComfort 45 . $279 at Bose David Carnoy/CNET Poly Voyager Focus 2 UC Best headset from Poly Product details Battery Life Rated up to 19 hours Noise Canceling Yes (ANC) Multipoint Yes Headphone Type On-ear wireless headset Water-Resistant No IP rating Plantronics' original Voyager Focus UC has long been considered one of the best work-from-anywhere headsets. Now we get the Voyager Focus 2 UC from Poly (the company Plantronics morphed into after it acquired Polycom), and it's improved in several ways, including better noise reduction (it's stellar), two levels of active noise canceling, increased battery life (up to 19 hours with ANC off and 16 hours with it on) and superior wireless range with Bluetooth 5. 1. You can pair the Voyager Focus 2 UC with your computer with the included USB dongle or your phone (or tablet) via Bluetooth. It can also connect to a desk phone if you want to bring it to the office. Also worth noting: The boom microphone has a mute button on it, but when you flip it up it also automatically mutes the microphone. The original Voyager Focus doesn't mute when you lift the boom microphone. The Focus 2 comes in several different versions, including USB-A and USB-C models and a version that's Microsoft Teams certified. You can get the headset by itself or in a bundle that includes a charging dock. All versions include a nice protective carrying pouch. The Voyager Focus 2 UC is expensive but offers excellent performance and is quite comfortable for an on-ear headphone. It also sounds good for music listening with nicely detailed sound and ample bass. It may not be quite up to the level of the Sony WH-1000XM4 for music, but it offers a nice music listening experience for a work-centric headset. $196 at Amazon $300 at HP Get Price Alerts You're receiving price alerts for Poly Voyager Focus 2 UC David Carnoy/CNET Kensington H3000 Comfortable midrange headset There's a bit of a generic look to Kensington's H3000 headset, but it's comfortable to wear with a nicely padded headband and ear cups, and it seems well built. Featuring a rotating boom microphone that can be worn on the right or left side (there's no designated left or right ear cup), the H3000 also offers good performance with decent sound for music listening and clear voice quality, according to those I spoke with (the microphone flips to mute). There's no active noise canceling -- just noise reduction for calls -- but the ear cups do passively seal out a fair amount of ambient noise. The headset uses Bluetooth 5. 2 and has excellent battery life -- it's rated for up to 60 hours of music listening and 40 hours for calls. It also has multipoint Bluetooth pairing, allowing you to pair it two devices simultaneously (your computer and smartphone, for example) and Kensington says it's designed for use with Intel Evo laptops but works fine with other laptops as well. $110 at Kensington $87 at Dell Jabra Jabra Elite 45h Best budget on-ear headphones for working from home Product details Battery Life Rated up to 50 hours Noise Canceling No Multipoint Yes Headphone Type On-ear wireless headphones Water-Resistant No IP rating Released in mid-2020, the Jabra Elite 45h were essentially billed as the best on-ear headphones for the money and among the best headphones for work. While there's nothing terribly fancy about them, they are a great value for on-ear headphones, with good sound quality, a sturdy design and comfortable fit -- for on-ear headphones, anyway. They perform well as a headset for making calls too, and include a sidetone feature that allows you to hear your voice so you don't talk too loudly. Battery life is also good and it has multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect to both your computer and your smartphone at the same time, and easily switch between the two should a call come in on your phone. It mostly works. Available in multiple color options, it lists for $100 but sporadically gets discounted to $80 or less. $79 at Amazon Get Price Alerts You're receiving price alerts for Jabra Elite 45h David Carnoy/CNET JLab Go Work Best budget headset for working from home Product details Battery Life Rated up to 45 hours Noise Canceling No Multipoint Yes Headphone Type On-ear wireless headset Water-Resistant No IP rating Known for its value headphones and earbuds, JLab offers a pair of on-ear headphones with an integrated boom microphone (it can be rotated up when just listening to music) and multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect them to your phone and computer simultaneously. I'm more partial to the Jabra Elite 45h, which list for $100 but usually sell for around $70. But if you don't want to spend quite that much, the Go Work are solid headphones -- and a good headset -- for the modest price. They're also comfortable to wear with a lightweight design. You won't mistake these for premium headphones, but the build quality means that they are among the best headphones for work for around $50. Battery life is rated at up to 45 hours at moderate volume levels, and you can mute calls using the multifunction button (an LED lights up at the end of the boom mic when the call is muted). I wouldn't call the sound quality for music listening and the headset performance stellar, but it's good, particularly for the price. For music listening, there's ample bass and clarity and a cable is included for wired use. The headphones charge via USB-C. $50 at Best Buy You're receiving price alerts for JLab Go Work David Carnoy/CNET Jabra Evolve2 30 Best wired headset Product details Battery Life NA Noise Canceling No Multipoint No Headphone Type On-ear wired headphones Water-Resistant No IP rating Jabra recently released the Evolve2 30, a new more affordable wired on-ear office headset with an integrated boom microphone. It's lightweight and comfortable and comes in USB-C and USB-A versions, as well as stereo and mono versions (I tried the USB-A stereo version). Alas, it's hard to get at the moment -- apparently, there's plenty of demand for office headphones/headsets at this price point. The headphones are OK for music listening, but they're primarily meant for voice applications. They feature dual microphones -- one for picking up your voice and the other to help reduce ambient noise around you so callers can hear you better. $120 at Amazon Get Price Alerts You're receiving price alerts for Jabra Evolve2 30 David Carnoy/CNET Shokz OpenComm Best bone conduction headset for working from home Product details Battery Life Rated up to 16 hours Noise Canceling Yes (microphone) Multipoint Yes Headphone Type Bone conduction open-ear headphones Water-Resistant Yes (IP55 -- protection against low-pressure water streams) Shokz has turned its OpenRun (formerly called the Aeropex) bone-conduction headphones into a more communications-friendly headset with an integrated boom microphone. Since these leave your ears open (the sound is conducted through your cheekbone), they aren't for people who want to seal their ears out from outside noise. Rather, the idea is that you can hear everything around you without having anything covering your ears or jammed inside them. Some folks find that liberating. While Shokz are arguably the best-sounding bone-conduction headphones, they aren't great-sounding for music because they're lacking in the bass department. However, they're great for speech so they work very well as a headset for making calls, with good noise reduction. These also have multipoint-Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair them with your phone and PC and easily switch to your phone if a call comes in while you're on your computer. ( Here are the instructions on how to use it . ) As long as you don't mind the boom microphone, you can use the OpenComm for sporting activities as well. The OpenRun and other Shokz headphones, including the flagship OpenRun Pro , are favorites for runners who want to keep their ears open to hear the outside world for safety reasons. They're also water-resistant. The only downside is they require a proprietary charging cable instead of USB-C. Battery life is rated at 16 hours of talk time and eight hours of listening time. $155 at Walmart Get Price Alerts You're receiving price alerts for Shokz OpenComm David Carnoy/CNET Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 Best noise-canceling with top-notch sound Product details Battery Life Rated Up to 6 Hours Noise Canceling Yes (ANC) Multipoint No Headphone Type Wireless Earbuds Water-Resistant Yes (IPX4 -- Splash-Proof Bose's second-generation QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are not only about 30% smaller than their predecessors, but their case is about 40% smaller and truly pocketable. They feature best-in-class noise canceling and improved sound, thanks to Bose's new CustomTune sound calibration system that customizes the sound for your ears. Voice-calling performance is also significantly better than that of the original QuietComfort Earbuds. The other big change is to the ear tips. Bose has ditched its one-piece StayEar wing tips for a two-piece Fit Kit system that features separate ear tips and "stability bands" in three size options, giving you more flexibility to get a secure fit and tight seal. Read our Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 review . $249 at Bose $249 at Amazon $249 at Best Buy You're receiving price alerts for Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 David Carnoy/CNET Sony WF-1000XM4 Sony's flagship wireless earbuds Product details Battery Life Rated up to 30 hours Noise Canceling Yes Multipoint Yes Headphone Type Over-ear wireless headphones Water-Resistant No IP rating In a surprise move, Sony announced that you can now upgrade Sony's excellent WF-1000XM4 noise-canceling with multipoint Bluetooth with a firmware upgrade (the LinkBuds and LinkBuds S earbuds are also eligible for the same upgrade). That was their only missing feature, and while Sony will likely release a new WF-1000XM5 in 2023, these are still great-sounding earbuds. They have great noise canceling, solid voice-calling capabilities and good battery life. While they fit a lot of ears, including mine, they may not be a comfortable fit for folks with smaller ears. $228 at Amazon $2