It's not just about the "where" you work, but the "when" - and how it is lit
Flexible hours matches your working style -- can lighting help?
I have been reading some great articles lately about remote working being about personal times to work (Forbes article) and how using lighting helps worker productivity (Inc. article).
Why am I bringing this up? Because I spend most of my winter days inside and frequently forget about the weather and what time it is as the outside is so grey (Belgium). I really feel that ‘mood lighting’ as we used to call it when I was younger may be an important element in not only productivity but positive mood enhancement.
I know many workers after almost three pandemic years that have mental health issues at present. Sleep patterns are disrupted, they have developed insomnia or irritability in their body systems which disrupts their physical health.
Having moved house at the end of last year, my new kitchen has a different lighting mode (blue light or golden light, you can choose) which has made a difference to the warmth of my kitchen.
Could we use lighting not only to create a better atmosphere but give clues to workers about what time of day it is and that they should be heading home or waking up or going to lunch? Check out the work of BrainLit.
I know when I stayed at a “Citizen M” hotel last month in Amsterdam that I had room lighting options to suit my mood and taste.
I believe part of the reason people hesitate to return to the office is that after two plus years they have customized their workspace to suit how they want to work, including lighting and lighting cues. Not only ring lighting for Zoom calls, but lighting that suits how they want to work.
How can we translate that to a wider workspace? Besides getting tech budget for laptops, second screens, etc — why not give us budget for personal lighting?