The Importance of Lighting in Your Office

There is a reason why the term “mood lighting” came into existence a long, long time ago; which obviously implies that a particular kind of lighting can have an effect on one’s mood. Lighting can change the whole vibe of a place, a movie, a play and basically every situation.

Take a movie for instance, if the lighting is not right it can really put people off. Imagine having to witness a screen projecting dark lighting when the scene is about the individuals in it having a ball of a time- and this is just a matter of a few minutes that one has to go through or bare while also having the option to walk out of the cinema hall or switching to another series while binge watching Netflix or prime if the whole lighting game is just not on point and gets to your nerves. But what about a situation wherein you don’t have that option? What if the lighting in the room makes you feel more relaxed or depressed or slow in general, which in turn makes you less efficient at what you’re doing and you don’t even have the option to walk out of there? I’m sure that the first thing that came to your mind was either your place of work or your house. In this article, let’s go through why lighting plays a vital role at one’s workplace.

First and foremost, let’s briefly go through the break-down of colours with their relation to lighting.

Warm lighting- These are the colours that slide towards red on the colour bar; reds, oranges and yellows are what we’re talking about.

Warm lighting projects a sense of relaxation and is ideal for a time when one reaches the end of the day, thus helping our inner clock seem methodical. Yellow lighting is very commonly found in cafes, lounges, spas, etc. where people go to rejuvenate and unwind. An office space with warm colours may not be the best idea since that may make your employees feel slow and sleepy thus leading to unproductivity and inefficiency.

Cool lighting- Cool lighting drives people to work more efficiently and helps eliminate the sense of lethargy since it projects a sense of liveliness. Cool lighting helps enhance cooler colours such as blues and greens and works in favour of both employees and employers in an office. This kind of lighting is known to be suitable in areas where one must be alert and at their best stage of functioning, which is why many interior designers suggest that the kitchens, bathrooms and garages have cool lighting, whereas the other areas of the house have colours preferred by the members of the family to suit their taste. After all, nobody wants to take the chance of leaning towards a state of unconsciousness while cooking, do they?

Warm and cool lighting are basically broken down into warm whites and cool whites with warm whites leaning towards a yellowish tinge and cool whites towards blues and greens.

The best way in which one can be productive while taking lighting into consideration is natural day light. Natural day light makes a person feel brighter and energetic and also helps eliminate irritability and insomnia, when compared to an early morning sunrise or the light of a sunset in the evening. The latter two can be compared to warm colours whereas the former to cool ones. However, in a closed office space, cool lighting is suggested in order to replace natural day light in the best way possible.

It is also important to note that artificial lighting- whatever it may be- reduces the levels of “cortisol” also termed as the “stress hormone” which is useful in situations of panic and anxiety. An office environment definitely sees pressure for almost everybody and an absolute elimination of natural light can cause an employee to feel more burdened and stressed since cortisol may not act as efficiently as it does in day light, in such situations. Northwestern Medicine and the University of Illinois conducted a study that prove that employees who are exposed to natural light sleep better during their non-working hours ,than those who aren’t. You would’ve understood by now that a good amount of ventilation and open spaces is ideal in an office. However, it is true that one cannot solely rely on natural day light from the sun since we also have to factor in the work timings, the weather, etc. which is why added lighting at our place of work is a necessity.

Lighting can make a room look bigger or smaller- is not a fact that’s unheard of. It is definitely true that a few things such as the colours in a room, mirrors, ventilation, etc. can play a major role in making a room look more spacious. In a world where people find it difficult to find “space” (thanks to our concrete jungles and over-populated metropolitans), it is not surprising that it is normal to feel claustrophobic. However, we do not want that to be the case at our place of work since that’ll do nothing but add to our levels of stress and irritation, which neither the employer nor the employees want. That being said, it is important to keep in mind the importance of making employees be part of an office that seems spacious and not clamped. Also, the new norm in itself is “social distancing” which implies that the office be spacious and help our employees get a better sense of that, apart from keeping them at a distance of 10m from each other. It is therefore good to invest in lighting that helps with the same.

A well- ventilated office with natural light beaming in through every window can help make the office look more spacious and aerated. Also, cool white lights can help give a similar appeal to the place of work which can help workers feel happier and more energetic, thus leading to greater levels of competency.

That is why, in order to achieve your targets, you must keep in mind the right kind of lighting can certainly bring out the best in every employee!