With more attention to creating comfortable and productive office spaces, companies and individuals alike are bound to look into sprucing up their work environment. This article will show key factors that businesses have to take into account to provide the best lighting options to increase productivity at the workplace, be it in a traditional office or a home office. But first, let’s take a look at the importance of a comfortable office environment.
Table of Contents
Importance and benefits of a comfortable office
Look at these factors when choosing lighting
Cranking up productivity in different spaces
Provide a range of lighting options
Importance and benefits of a comfortable office
Companies are beginning to realize the importance and benefits of having a comfortable office. One of the major factors affecting productivity within an office environment is none other than office lighting.
Bad lighting may have several negative effects on the human body. It can lead to eye strain, headaches, and higher levels of fatigue. The lack of natural sunlight might even result in conditions like seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression that comes and goes seasonally.
Issues like that can be alleviated or even eradicated with good office lighting. According to HRD Asia, the majority of respondents polled in a study on what makes a comfortable workspace cited air quality and lighting among the top factors that affect their productivity at the office. This makes lighting a necessary investment when it comes to building productive workspaces.
By 2026, the global lighting fixtures and luminaires market is expected to reach $110.6 billion, and the global commercial lighting market is expected to reach $73,295.1 million.
Look at these factors when choosing lighting
Cost-efficient and smart lighting
LED and smart lights are among the most cost-efficient and convenient options available. Power-efficient lighting would be suitable for consumers looking into reducing costs. By 2026, the LED lighting market is expected to reach $160.03 billion, and the size of the global smart lighting market is also projected to reach $38.68 billion.
LED lighting has been popular since it is usually more efficient than traditional incandescent or fluorescent light bulbs. Furthermore, LED tubes and LED bulbs have less flicker, helping to reduce eye strain over long periods. Compared to incandescent lighting, LED lights can save more than 80% of energy. It saves about 33% of energy when pitted against fluorescent lighting. LED lights also have a longer service life and lower maintenance costs after installation.
Another convenient lighting option for office spaces would be smart lighting. Controlling a smart ceiling light from a phone makes everything so much more convenient. The issue of forgetting to switch off the lights would also be easily solved. Consider providing several different functions for smart lighting like voice control, being able to schedule when the lights switch on or off, being able to dim the lights, or a function to make the lights warmer or cooler.
It has been found that exposure to white light during the day can help improve performance. Having smart lighting control where users can brighten or dim the lights when required would make your product a tad more popular. Both LED and smart lighting can help save on electricity costs over time, and they are great for both home office and commercial use.
General and multi-directional lighting
For more traditional office spaces, lighting should make the space feel welcoming, pleasant, and most importantly, look presentable to visitors. Downlights and panel lights are great for general overhead lighting in commercial applications.
Apart from making the office space look professional, reducing glare is also important for a pleasant work environment. Look into anti-glare LED downlights or panel light diffusers for a conducive office space.
For businesses or freelancers who might be in the creative sphere, multi-directional lighting might be an attractive option. With multi-directional lighting, users can decide where the light goes and bring attention to certain areas.
Spotlights can instantly upgrade the aesthetics of a home office that might double as a photo studio. A customizable wall-mounted swivel spotlight may tickle the fancy of independent brands with tinier offices.
Ambient and task lighting
As with all office spaces, the ceiling lights might cast dark shadows onto the workspace, making it less conducive. Task lighting is thus essential for a better-lit workspace. A portable, modern-looking table lamp will be a great option for tinier office spaces.
A foldable desk lamp with a wireless charging port would also be a great option. Multi-functional table lamps that can double as music speakers and wireless chargers are bound to attract remote workers who want a highly-personalized workspace.
There should be a balance between artificial and natural light in any workspace. For those with the luxury of space, ambient lighting can be provided through larger floor lamps. Floor lamps can provide a contrast to the natural light that may be coming in, which may sometimes feel a bit too glaring for those seated near the windows. Making the light intensity adjustable on these lamps would naturally be a plus for any user.
Cranking up productivity in different spaces
Office workspaces
Lighting options like panel lights and downlights are suitable for commercial applications since these work well and look great in large office spaces. Spotlights would be a great addition to smaller offices since they can jazz up the overall work environment.
The US and the European Union have lighting standards when it comes to office spaces, so providing product options to make it easier for customers to adhere to these standards would be a plus.
Home offices
Portable, movable or adjustable lighting options are suitable for home offices. These lighting options can be installed at dedicated workstations in separate rooms or placed in a separate nook within a studio apartment. Ambient and task lighting works rather well for smaller spaces since items like table or floor lamps are usually quite portable.
Provide a range of lighting options
With the number of lighting options available, what is suitable for each specific space is very much dependent on how the space is designed, whether it has natural light, and how one wants the overall look and feel of the workspace to be. This article has presented the importance of a comfortable workspace and factors to be considered when choosing lights. Now you are ready to start looking into the range of office and home office lighting options available on Alibaba.com.
