Ergonomic Lighting for the Modern Workplace

No longer just a buzz word, ergonomics is essential to the modern workplace. While today’s companies and employees have become more educated on well-being in the office, a key component of an ergonomic workstation often falls to the wayside – lighting. Ergonomic lighting is crucial for workplace wellness and preventing Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), which affects approximately 90% of workers at some point in their career! CVS symptoms include dry eyes, headaches and blurred vision.

Improper lighting, whether it's too much or too little, is a major contributing factor to digital eye strain. When designing healthy workspaces, it's important to remember that every person requires a unique amount of light. While people in their mid-twenties are able to read a piece of paper with minimal lighting, those in their mid-sixties require three times the amount of light to be able to read the same paper.

This is where ergonomic lighting comes in.

Dual source lighting, in which employees use both overhead lighting and an adjustable task light, provides the perfect amount of light when and where you need it. Adding a task light to each desk reduces eye strain by providing an optimal source of light at all times. Whether the employee needs to read a paper document or perform computer-based work, they are able to adjust the brightness of their light accordingly.

In addition to the physical benefits, dual source lighting can also make a positive financial and environmental impact.

By reducing the need for excessive overhead lighting and using LED light sources, companies can save in electricity bills and become more energy efficient. LED lights are better for the environment because energy consumption is drastically lower than a normal lightbulb.

Task lights, such as Humanscale’s best-selling line, can be easily adjusted in brightness and distance to meet the lighting needs of each user – resulting in a healthier, more comfortable workplace.