Lighting often gets overlooked when looking at renting an office space, as business owners concentrate on practical issues such as transport links, facilities, space and layout. However, in the workplace, the amount of natural light can be very important to productivity and maintaining a successful workforce.

Mental health and well-being in the workplace is  a more commonly had discussion these days in terms of work/life balance, working hours and location, and stress. Where employees feel like their mental health is suffering they will feel less about to do their best work, or work at all. Mental health issues were the number one reason for lost working time in all UK employment sectors bar the Transport & Logistics, Consumer & Retail and Workplace Services sectors in 2021, beating even COVID19 as a cause of absence. Employers need to find ways to look after their employees mental health, and whilst initiatives like free fruit and birthday’s off are nice, something as simple as plenty of natural light makes a massive difference.

Bad lighting is associated with a range of ill-health effects, both physical and mental. This includes eye strain, headaches, and fatigue, but also stress and anxiety. Where we spend much of the day in artificial lighting, there is evidence that the lack of natural sunlight has an adverse effect on the body and the mind, and can result in conditions such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

A recent research report by the UK company Staples included an online survey of 7,000 office workers, and 80% of office workers, said that having good lighting in their workspace is important to them, and 40% of them are having to deal with uncomfortable lighting every day. A third of respondents said that better lighting would make them happier at work. In short, when renting an office space, lighting should be a key consideration.

Renting an office space in Surrey

There are a wide range of spaces available to rent at Tannery Studios in Surrey. Get in touch with the team to find out more, or take the virtual tour.