Future lighting will become like a digital medium. It will be captured, transported, and rendered automatically, and it will provide end-user benefits in a diversity of application domains ranging from functional and atmospheric lighting to cognitive enhancement and mental care
Experiments and research on the positive effects of proper lighting on humans as a whole began as early as the beginning of the 1900’s. One such experiment was the ‘Hawthorne Effect’ carried out in 1924 to 1932 at the Western Electric’s factory at Hawthorne, Chicago. The study was conducted, ‘to see if workers would become more productive in higher or lower levels of light’. The findings from the study established that even though the performance of workers was influenced by their surroundings, people they are working with and their own inherent abilities, researchers were surprised to find that lighting proved to be the biggest influence on their productivity.
Andrew Jenson, A business growth, efficiency & marketing consultant, explains that,
With light being a key component of vision, and vision being responsible for 80 to 85 percent of our perception of the world around us, it’s not difficult to see why ignoring proper lighting strategies in your office could have a significant negative impact on productivity. Harsh lighting and dim lighting are equally detrimental to the productivity of your workers, and, by opting instead for more natural lighting or other lighting systems that have been proven effective, you stand to not only save energy but also increase productivity among your business’s employee.
Smart lighting is the future and this is evident from a recent survey conducted by Bruskin Goldring Research on workers in the US which revealed that,
as many as 85 per cent of respondents stated that they suffered from headaches as a result of poor lighting at the workplace.
The majority of workers surveyed believed that,
improved lighting in the workplace could help improve mood and increase energy levels in the workplace, which would directly affect their productivity.
Human resources are the most important part of any establishment and the research proves how poor lighting affects performance.
Reports produced by the Journal of Property Management also show that proper lighting equipment led to absenteeism dropping by 25% at the workplace and productivity increasing by 13%.
According to the findings by the EU’s Lighting For People project,
proper lighting in the workplace directly influences productivity in the workplace. The right lighting can help regulate your employee’s body clock, boosting mental performance and helping your employees feel more alert and energetic. The better the light quality, the more pronounced this effect is.
Lighting not only affects visual conditions, it also has an effect on our biological functions and emotions,
explains Michael Helander, CEO and co-founder of OLED Company. Those businesses that understand what drives productivity will not only produce better talents, products and services but also generate higher revenue.