Exposure to Natural Light Improves Workplace Performance. We all know the discombobulated feeling of being stuck in a windowless room under fluorescent lights during daylight hours. One reason I’ve never been able to maintain a traditional 9-to-5 office job is that after a week-or-two of working without natural light my mind and body begin to short circuit and I quit. I’ve never been able to make it past an entry level position in a cubicle to enjoy the natural light of the ‘corner office.’
How does working in a windowless environment under artificial light make you feel? Let the Sun Shine In! Researchers at the Interdepartmental Neuroscience program at Northwestern University in Chicago, reported this week that the detrimental impact of working in a windowless environment is a universal phenomenon. A new study titled, "Impact of Workplace Daylight Exposure on Sleep, Physical Activity, and Quality of Life," concludes that there is a strong relationship between workplace daylight exposure and office workers' sleep, activity and quality of life.
Windows Add to Office Workers' Well-Being, Study Finds. THURSDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Paid vacation and health benefits are coveted job perks. Perhaps windows also belong on that list, new research suggests. Workers in offices with windows get more and better sleep at night, are more physically active and have a higher quality of life than those in windowless offices, a new study finds.
The study included 49 day-shift office employees, 22 in workplaces with windows and 27 in windowless workplaces. Those in offices with windows received 173 percent more white light exposure during work hours and slept an average of 46 minutes more a night than those in windowless offices. Employees in offices with windows also tended to be more physically active, had better sleep quality and efficiency, fewer sleep disturbances, less daytime sleepiness, and higher quality-of-life scores.
The findings were presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. More information The U.S. Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. Freedom from constraints: Darkness and dim illumination promote creativity. Highlights Dim illumination and priming darkness improve creative performance. Perceived freedom and a creativity-supportive processing style explain the effect.
Light setting and the stage of the innovation process limit the effect's emergence. Abstract Employee creativity is critical to organizational competitiveness. However, the potential contribution made by the workspace and the physical environment is not fully taken into account because, up to now, it has been rather unclear how aspects of the physical environment, especially light, can support creativity. Keywords Light; Darkness; Creativity; Perceived freedom from constraints Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
Code du travail et lumière du jour. Poor Lighting Can Affect Your Health. It is not a secret that bad lighting at home or in the workplace can affect your health. If you’re used to reading books in a dark place you shouldn’t be surprised when your vision deteriorates. Proper lighting is essential for people who enjoy reading or have to work in front of the computer screen. You have to find the right balance of natural and artificial lightning at work and at home. Too much light or flickering light will damage your eyes. Bad illumination will affect your productivity as well. Low levels of productivity Bad lighting at work will lower employee’s productivity and accuracy, as well as their ability to concentrate on details.
Posture Bad lighting may force you sit in an uncomfortable position closer to your screen. Headache When you work in a room with poor lightning your eyes have to double their work in order to focus on the computer screen. Eye strain Having an eye strain is a very uncomfortable feeling. General well-being Lighting affects your general well-being.