The placement and quality of lighting play a key role when completing tasks in the workplace. Optimal lighting can reduce headaches and eye fatigue, which makes completing on-site tasks easier. In fact, proper lighting has also been found to reduce depression and improve mood, energy, and alertness. If this isn’t enough to convince you, ask your employees. Probably someone already complained about the glare in the office, headaches, and eye fatigue, but the lighting was the last thing to pass your thought. Well, learn that illuminance, colour temperature, and glare are all behaviours of light that can be distracting to your employees.
Light & Performance
When you think about how lighting affects performance, you may already know a few small but important factors. Staring at the blue light of a computer for too long can strain your eyes, while the bright lights can simply be too harsh. Different types of light activate our body’s circadian rhythm. It impacts how we sleep, work, and feel, which is why creating the optimal lighting condition in the workplace matters.
In today’s working environments, it’s crucial to consider the type of lighting you use depending on the task at hand. For example, in a workplace that’s heavily reliant on computers, it’s important to have an accurate lighting source to diminish the strain that a blue light screen produces on workers’ eyes.
• Bright light
Most companies like the extra-bright, nearly blinding lighting in their workspaces. But while it may be inexpensive, fluorescent lights can also lead to a variety of health and wellness issues. The headaches you’ve heard your employees complaining about are one of the best-known side effects of fluorescent lighting, besides hidden effects on mood and immune system.
• Dim light
You might be tempted into thinking that the cool and chilled-out vibe of a dimly lit office will work wonders for your team’s performance. But while turning down the lights may look like it is working wonders for their mental health, it’s more than likely draining their well-being.
Surprisingly, dim light will only make it harder for workers to focus. If your team is already working in a dimly lit office while staring at the bright blue glare of a computer screen all day, the contrast of light can cause headaches, making it even difficult to focus or feel comfortable. In fact, one study shows that working in a dimly lit space can actually impact our ability to absorb and retain information.
• Natural light
Natural lighting is perhaps the best type of lighting for a workspace. Direct sunlight can reduce headaches occurrence, and it can even lower stress and drowsiness in workers. Large windows and access to natural lighting can improve your team’s satisfaction levels and reduce anxiety levels.
But because not all working environments have access to large windows, the next best thing is to simulate the feel and look of natural light with artificial light. For that, you can use a spectrometer to determine the light intensity per wavelength and reach a comfortable level of light without feeling too artificial. What is a spectrometer? A spectrometer is a tool that you can use to measure the properties of light over a defined range of electromagnetic spectrums. When designing a workspace, a spectrometer can help measure the relative intensities of light using an optical sensing element. You can use one to reach an optimal light condition that perfectly imitates the natural light and increase your workplace environment.
One report shows that people in offices with optimised natural light experienced 56% decrease in drowsiness, 51% decrease in eyestrain and 63% decrease in the incidence of headaches. Another report found that workspaces with natural light tend to feel more open, collaborative, and joyous – qualities we could all use more in our work environments.
• Programmable lighting systems
The lighting conditions in a workplace play a crucial role in setting the right mood, affecting productivity, and making things possible. For this reason, modern working environments have heavily invested in creating the right experiences. With programmable lighting, employees don’t just adjust lights to their own needs but also customise them for certain activities. For instance, brainstorming sessions can be encouraged with cool light, while decision-making activities go well with warm lighting.
Warehouses and other commercial buildings require well-lit areas for storing products, equipment, and other crucial items. Even so, the staff working in industrial places need equally powerful lights to complete their tasks and move around safely.
Installing programmable lighting systems throughout the warehouse creates a more accident-proof environment for those working in factories, warehouses, and places alike. Glare-free and light lighting create a risk-free environment throughout the factory and makes heavy equipment more noticeable for the on-site workers, thereby preventing accidents and unnecessary damage to the equipment.
To sum it up, being mindful of lighting choices in your workplace doesn’t only affect your employee’s productivity and well-being but your business operations as well. Optimal lighting conditions play an important role in today’s work environments. Not only do they improve what we do but our overall mental state while we do it.
