The debate over natural vs. artificial light became a business debate a few decades ago when increasingly crowded and compartmentalized offices led to situations where some staff members would go the entire day without a single ray of natural light landing on them. Some of these folks began to claim that their immersion in artificial light was having a negative impact on their health. As the number and frequency of complaints escalated health studies got underway designed to assess the importance and impact of natural light on our lives. Among the conclusions these studies came to were the following:

  • Natural light is important to maintaining a positive outlook – People who spent large amounts of time isolated from natural light sources were found to be significantly more prone to moodiness and depression than those who were exposed to normal levels of sunlight.
  • Natural light can be effective in preventing or battling skin disorders – Eczema, psoriasis and a plethora of other chronic skin conditions were found to respond favourably to natural light while often getting worse under prolonged exposure to artificial light.
  • Regular exposure to natural light helps you sleep better – Natural light is an important part of your body’s recipe for maintaining your circadian rhythms or “biological clock”. It is now well-documented that being isolated from natural light for prolonged periods can have a negative effect on this internal pacing mechanism which in turn, will disrupt your normal sleep patterns.
  • Exposure to sunlight promotes the generation of vitamin D – Vitamin D encourages the growth of strong bones, has been shown to help lower blood pressure and may even aid in the prevention of certain types of cancer. Recent studies also suggest it may help in staving off type 1 diabetes.

We could go on but I think you get the point. Regular exposure to natural light whether direct or indirect is important to physical and mental health. And that is an important thing for you to know because if your employees are tired, depressed and ill they will not be producing at anywhere near their potential, and that will have a direct affect on your bottom line by way of decreased productivity, lost work days and increased health claims.

Demountable Wall Systems – A Healthy Response

To say that the data streaming in from all these studies was eye-opening would be an understatement. What it all pointed to was the fact that a major rethinking of the office environment on the macro level was necessary. The days when the general office space resembled more of a hedge maze than a place to do business would have to come to an end and a new paradigm conceived to replace it.

Enter the demountable wall system. The demountable wall system of easily repurposed architectural wall components designed to accommodate technological advancements, promote increased productivity and – most important for this discussion – open up the office space to natural light and more effective air flow represents the most important development to hit the workplace in decades.

By opening up your space with a system of modular architectural walls you are…

  • Promoting the spread of natural light – In the past private offices that lined the periphery of the floorplan (where, of course, all the windows are) greedily soaked up the natural light from those windows and prevented it from passing through to the interior. The demountable wall systems of today do not necessarily preclude the existence of private offices but their numbers should be reduced and those that survive should utilize glass panel partitions in order to free the natural light to circulate.
  • Cutting your healthcare related expenses – By effectively addressing the issue of light deprivation and its associated maladies with modular wall systems you are putting your employees back on the track to good health and productivity while reducing health claims as well as the number of lost work days that go with them.
  • Increasing company morale – This one is just common sense. Would you rather report to work each day at a dim, soul crushing cubicle farm or to an office that shines and breathes and reflects the latest concepts in aesthetic and practical design? It has been proven time and again that people work harder if they feel they belong to an organization that cares about them and their daily work experience.
  • Positioning your company to better handle the challenges of the future – An efficient, flexible, well maintained operation staffed by healthy and motivated workers is far more likely to weather the storms of the global business environment than one constructed using outdated concepts, inflexible managerial practices and a work environment unable to respond to changes in business technology, staffing needs or employee health issues.
  • Saving money – In the past, peripheral offices with opaque walls, numerous hallways and the proliferation of cubicles effectively created night time in the daytime at the centre of your office floor. All that darkness not only took a toll on the people working there but also required scores of artificial lights to illuminate. By opening up your space with demountable wall systems you eliminate the need for the all those lights and enjoy substantial savings on your electric bill.

Today the benefits of natural light in the workplace are obvious: healthier employees, increased productivity and savings on your electric bill being just a few. Demountable wall systems are the proven way to introduce these benefits to your organization while enhancing your competitive edge and company image along the way. If you have not explored the possible benefits modular wall systems can bring to your company you may want to before energy prices spike again or your company is faced with a medical claims emergency that could overwhelm it.

Call us toll free at 1-844-468-1468. Our demountable wall system professionals are standing by to discuss your situation with you and provide you the information you need to make the right decision for your company’s future.

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