Now more than ever people are working from home and this is set to continue. Even after Coronavirus has allowed us to return to reality, more businesses will allow working from home. Yay – no more daily commutes, or adding smart trousers and skirts to match your top (hello, pyjama-bottom-wearers!). Working from home definitely has a lot of advantages for staff, but we do have to remember our employers, and productivity – don’t forget your health. Focusing on tasks can be a particularly tricky issue, especially if your workspace is not properly set up, and lighting plays a big part in this. When working, we frequently focus on screens, documents and files and all these require good lighting. Unfortunately, the general lighting we have in our homes is not designed for this, so let’s take a look at how we can improve your lighting and boost those production levels.
WHERE IS YOUR WORKSPACE?
Whether you are lucky enough to have a garden office / sun room, in-home office, a desk, dining table or a lap-tray, there are lights to suit every need and occasion (mood lighting isn’t good for work, and work lighting isn’t good for setting the mood). Although your workspace is vital for business, look for lighting that can double up as decorative if you don’t have dedicated space that can be shut away at the end of the day.
WHERE IS YOUR LIGHT COMING FROM?
You want to make use of natural light, where possible, but avoid screen glare by having your lighting behind any screens you are using. You also want to make sure you have enough artificial lighting when in absence or balancing of natural light – be it evening or a cloudy day or most of the time in our winters! Not having enough lighting can reduce morale and make you feel sluggish while all that squinting to see what you’re doing leads to headaches and eye strain. None of these things are particularly helpful when trying to get things done.
AVOID DIRECT LIGHT
We want to increase the lighting for the jobs at hand, but don’t want to feel like we are under interrogation! High levels of a harsh light will make you feel drained and can wreak havoc with our sleeping patterns. The trick is to increase the general lighting around your workspace, but to use defused light to do this. We can create defused light by using shades that soften and scatter the light or we could use up-lights that bounce light off the ceiling and casting back down on us as defused light. An easy way to introduce this kind of light is by using floor lamps and adding shades. For functional inspiration, with more than a touch of chic, take a look at our huge range of floor lamps and shades.
FOCUS LIGHTING
Aah, the humble table / desk lamp – what we all think of when talking about home office lighting, and with good reason too! Table lamps are an excellent way to introduce high levels of light to a specific or focussed area. By directing light to the task at hand, you will avoid eyestrain and headaches, and help your concentration.
If desk space is a commodity or you’d like something that blends in with the rest of your room, wall lights are a great option, or the right floor lamp, as mentioned above.
With the correct levels of lighting and directed task lighting, you should find working from home far easier and more productive.