office lighting mood

With hope in the air as COVID-19 restrictions are slowly able to ease, businesses are re-evaluating their communal office spaces.

Where people cannot work from home, healthy and safe office spaces are so important!

And this isn’t just about social distancing or physical health. Mental health in the office should be on every employer’s mind.

How can office lighting affect your mood and productivity in the work place?

Lighting in the work place is probably one of the last things thought about when building a business.

With advancing technology in computer screens, it should be one of the first things to consider.

Modern-day workers spend more and more time at their desk looking at computer screens. This not only impacting users eyesight, but also mood and productivity. In a time when the mental health of workers should be a priority, is it time that employers start looking at small ways they can prevent mental illness whilst increasing productivity within the work place.

Migraines and Headaches

It is common in an office to see overhead lighting whether that is from a panel lighting or a down light. With the glare from a computer screen this can often cause headaches and migraines. Migraines in particular can cause perfectly capable employees to have time off work thus reducing productivity in the workplace and increasing stress on other employees.

Drowsiness and Fatigue

Often employees find themselves drowsy especially in the afternoons, which can lead to browsing the web for unrelated work content, or lack of motivation for their job. Using alternative lighting such as individual strip light can increase productivity and motivation.

Eyesight

It is a known fact that staring at a computer screen all day can affect eyesight. Bright screens can cause strain on the eyes not only causing eye sight problems but can also lead to migraines. Down lights are particular causes of eyestrain, particularly white lights.  Having light distributed evenly or having individual lights reduces strain on the eyes.

The alternative to all of these problems is exposing employees to more natural light. Having said that, if knocking down walls to install windows natural light is not an option then there are alternatives are available.  At study by Greenwich University shows that 75.8% of employees say that natural light is important to them. There are many ways that lights can change an employee’s mood. Adding individual lights on employee’s desks is one way that the employee can control their own light.

Another way of reciprocating natural light is by having colour changing lights.  Blue tones of light can replicate the sky and early day light. This can be a way of boosting mood. In more intimate settings such as meeting rooms and small offices, soft lighting can be used such as yellows and warm whites to give a feeling of safety and comfort. Meetings can be stressful situations, so using soft light will have a positive effect on employees and productivity.

Using neon strip lights around desks combines both the individual lighting factor and the ability to change the colour of light. Not only will this increase productivity at work, but it will also save on energy bills and maintenance costs.

Naturally lit areas will always prove more effective and increase productivity but if that is not an option, products such as LED Neon strip will always help in replicating natural light.

To find out more about our range of office lighting, LED neon strip, explore our neon options here. Alternatively, visit our Contact page with any questions.

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