Many businesses have made an eager return to office working since pandemic restrictions were lifted. But if there is one thing that no one missed, it is harsh, fluorescent office lighting.
Poorly designed lighting is not just hard to look at — the quality of the lighting in your office space could be having a significant impact on the health and productivity of your workers.
Our bodies are intuitively tuned in to natural light cycles. Circadian rhythms (our internal body clock, which sends signals from our brain to tell our bodies when to be alert and when to rest) react to light, influencing the amount and quality of sleep we get.
Employees are a company’s greatest asset, so if staff are working in a sub-optimal environment that is impacting their sleep and causing energy levels to drop, businesses stand to lose out — both in results and employee satisfaction.
Light and productivity go hand in hand
To create an optimised workspace, you have to start with a good lighting design. But first, it is important to understand how different light temperatures and brightness can change our mood.
We tend to refer to light temperature as a spectrum from ‘cool’ to ‘warm’. Cool lighting has a bright white, almost blueish hue; this is the type of light that makes you feel alert. On the other hand, warm light is a yellow or orange tone and is more conducive for relaxation.
An office space that uses the same level of harsh, bright light throughout the day can disrupt natural cycles and prevent workers from winding down. This leaves building inhabitants feeling burned out and contributes to fragmented sleep, headaches, eye strain and more — all of which negatively impact effective working. Therefore, natural circadian rhythms can benefit from a low-intensity, warm light in the morning and evening and a cooler, more energising light during the main part of the day.
Research has shown that employees who are exposed to natural light throughout the working day report 84% less eye strain, headaches and blurred vision. So, why not just build an office with floor to ceiling windows to let in as much natural light as possible? Not only is natural light unpredictable, but sharp shadows and glare on computer screens can be just as disruptive.
Therefore, the ideal lighting for office spaces strikes a balance between natural and artificial light, adapting throughout the course of the day with varying light intensity. That is why building managers are increasingly choosing intelligent lighting controls to moderate the quality of light in commercial buildings.
Optimise your office with lighting controls
Implementing lighting controls in your buildings is an easy way of providing the adaptability and control essential for use in modern work environments.
Flexibility is key in offices where different rooms are used for various purposes — especially in coworking spaces, where workers from multiple businesses share the same facilities. Scene-setting technology allows users to manipulate the lighting in an area to better suit their needs — like, for instance, dimming light in break rooms or turning it up in conference rooms to boost alertness.
And not only do businesses stand to gain from enhanced productivity and results from workers by using this technology, but facilities managers can also enjoy the cost and energy-saving benefits of automated lighting controls. For example, daylight linking uses sensors to detect the level and quality of light and adjusts luminaires accordingly. Motion sensors ensure no energy is wasted, creating a more human-friendly lighting design and improving energy efficiency at the same time.
We supply full suite of commercial and architectural lighting control solutions to help building managers and occupants get the most out of their lighting — using the latest technology to design ‘human-centric’ lighting for offices. This solution imitates natural daylight by balancing the artificial light in workers’ daily environments to improve sleep quality, energy and productivity.
Are you looking to revamp your office’s lighting? Get in touch to discuss your project with one of our lighting specialists.