Office lighting is one of the most valuable ergonomic features in the workplace, however it’s often overlooked and rushed. Poor lighting can have a physical impact on your team’s health, as well as cause a significant drop in productivity.
Let There be Light
So, what should you look for when upgrading your office ceiling lights? Under the Health & Safety Act of 1974, an employer has a duty to ensure the health and safety of employees. The act includes office lighting regulations that are essential to ensure work can be carried out safely. Regulation No 8 of the Workplace Regulations Act 1992 states employers must ensure that:
- Every workplace has sufficient lighting
- So far as is reasonably practical, this should be natural light
- Suitable emergency lighting should be provided where necessary
Benefits of Good Office Lighting
How can something as simple as office lighting have such a large impact on your business operations? Here are a few ways in which updating the office ceiling lights in your building can transform your workplace:
- Productivity / Performance – Lighting in offices is key to creating a comfortable work environment. When your team are more comfortable, you’ll notice their productivity levels rise and work quality increase too.
- Employee Wellbeing – Light also heavily influences moods and wellbeing. Whether you’re optimising natural light (which we will always recommend) or artificial lighting, there are certain design techniques that can lead to a happier workforce.
- Sustainability – Certain lighting options have energy saving options that can help reduce your carbon use. For example, LED office ceiling lights are very energy efficient to reduce the amount of energy you use every day to light your workplace. They also don’t contain any harmful chemicals that can be found in fluorescent lights, meaning they are overall much better for the environment.
- Return on Investment – LED office lights in particular can also help you cut your expenses as they are much less wattage to operate. It’s logic: if you’re using less energy, you’re spending less on energy.
Types of Office Lighting
Are you looking to brighten up your workplace? Here are a few modern office lights we provide:
Modular Lighting
It’s not always possible to handpick an office with panoramic windows and picturesque views. Not to mention that during the UK winter months, quite a few working hours are spent in darkness. Artificial lighting is therefore a must for most UK workplaces.
Classic modular lighting will generally include fluorescent tubes and chrome diffusers. To avoid fatigue, muscle strain and headaches in the workplace, you’ll need to pick your office lights carefully. Low lux levels (or insufficient lighting) are a common cause of fatigue but equally, high lux levels (excessive light) can cause eyestrain and headaches. Our office fit out team can help determine the best light levels to suit your workplace.
LED Lighting
For many, traditional fluorescent overhead lighting is far from ideal in offices today. LEDs are a popular alternative and a favourite at Gravity Office Interiors. These eco-friendly lights reduce glare to create a more comfortable work environment.
LED office lights can also help to create the illusion of bringing natural light into the office. We can even offer LED sky panels with display scenes of blue skies, trees and blossom to help connect your team with nature.
Natural Lighting
Of course, you can’t beat natural lighting. It can do wonders for your workplace; reducing stress and anxiety, increasing productivity and making for a generally happier and healthier workforce.
Our design team can reconfigure your office layout to ensure you’re making best use of the natural light that flows in. Often, we use glass partitioning as a tool to achieve this as the transparency of the glass panes allows more natural light to flow into certain work areas.
Office Lighting in Gloucestershire
Whether you want to reduce headaches in the workplace or are looking for a more sustainable lighting option, we can help. Our designers can curate a brighter office layout, as well as install the best lighting system for your office. Don’t worry, we’ll consider your existing ceiling system to ensure our lighting products are compatible. Get in touch with our experts to discuss your office lighting design further or enquire about a complete office fit out.
FAQs – Office Lighting
What are the UK office lighting regulations?
The Workplace Regulations Act (1992) states that businesses must ensure their place of work meets the following requirements:
- Suitable and sufficient lighting
- Maximises natural light
- Required emergency lighting
Can lighting in offices cause headaches?
Workplace lighting with high lux levels can be excessive. This is unnatural for the eye to intake and can cause eyestrain. This in turn can lead to frequent headaches and migraines in the workplace, which can hinder work quality and productivity. To protect the wellbeing of your staff, it’s incredibly important to consider office lighting.
How can you improve office lighting?
Office lighting is important, but tricky to get right. We recommend talking to commercial design or fit out experts to evaluate your workplace and determine the best products and frequency of lights to suit your unique office space.
What’s the best lighting to improve office productivity?
The best lighting for your workplace will be entirely unique to your office layout. We recommend utilising natural light as much as possible, as this has the best impact on staff productivity. If your workplace is slightly darker, we recommend LED lights are these are the best alternative to natural light.
For any more information, please get in touch with our team.
