The focus of this document is on features of the office environment that may contribute to eye discomfort. In addition to advice you find here, your eye care professional may also be able to help with any eye discomfort you are experiencing (e.g. adjustments to your current eyewear prescription, eye drops, etc).
Finally, regardless of your visual environment, if you read paper documents or your computer screen for too long, your eyes will get sore or tired.
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Duration of Visual Tasks |
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Paper Documents |
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Monitor Display |
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Monitor Height and Tilt |
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Monitor Viewing Distance |
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Lighting Levels |
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Glare |
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Air Quality |
Duration of Visual Tasks
There are two major problems associated with prolonged visual tasks in the office.
1) Looking at close objects is harder on the eyes than looking at more distant objects. Follow the 20/20/20 rule:
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every 20 minutes look at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. |
2) We tend to blink less often when performing visual tasks (and even less frequently when working on a computer). The result can be dry eyes.
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Concentrate on blinking more frequently. |
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Close your eyes periodically. |
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Ask your eye care professional about moisturizing eye drops (especially if you wear contact lenses). |
Paper Documents
Are your paper documents easy to read?
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Good character size |
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Legible (e.g. hand-written vs typed documents) |
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Good contrast (e.g. some multi-copy forms can be very faint) |
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Free of glare, not too glossy |
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Well illuminated |
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Positioned properly |
Monitor Display
Is what is displayed on your monitor easy to read?
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Test your screen contrast and/or brightness controls | |
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For more information, click on contrast/brightness and scroll til you find "CRTs and LCDs " | |
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Test different font sizes | |
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Ensure foreground and background colours are appropriate | |
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Is there flicker/jitter on your screen? | |
Monitor Height and Tilt
For advice on how to position your monitor, refer to:
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Monitor Positioning Recommendations |
However, finding the best monitor height and tilt can be a challenge in a poorly lit office. In some cases, lowering your monitor can help. In other cases, it can make things worse.
Why lowering your monitor can help:
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When looking up, your eyes are more open than when looking down. The more open your eyes are, the more susceptible they are to drying. |
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When looking up, you are more likely to have light sources (e.g. ceiling lights) in your field of view, which can be hard on your eyes ("direct glare"). |
Why lowering your monitor can hurt:
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When your monitor is below eye level, it should be tilted back. This may cause reflections of ceiling lights to appear in your display ("reflected glare"). |
Read on to learn more about how to address glare.
Monitor Viewing Distance
As previously mentioned, close objects can be harder on the eyes than far objects. Before you consider increasing your monitor viewing distance, refer to the following link:
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Monitor Positioning Recommendations |
Lighting Levels
Perform this test. Shield your eyes by placing your hand, palm down, just above your eyes (like you are saluting). If your eyes are more comfortable when you shield your eyes, lighting levels may be too bright.
Very little light is required for computer viewing. However, if lighting levels are too low the following problems may occur:
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you will find reading paper documents difficult and will need a task light |
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your monitor will appear to be excessively bright, which can be hard on the eyes |
A simple way to reduce lighting levels is to remove tubes from overhead light fixtures.
Glare
Glare can be direct or reflected.
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Direct glare occurs when a light source appears directly in your field of view (e.g. window behind your monitor). |
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Reflected glare occurs when a reflection of a light source appears in your field of view (e.g. reflection of a ceiling light or window in your monitor or another work surface). |
Common sources of glare:
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windows |
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desk lamps |
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floor lamps |
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ceiling lamps |
For reflected glare, try to identify the problem light sources.
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For computer monitors: Turn off your monitor and look at the screen for reflections of lights, windows, etc (while in your normal working position). |
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For paper documents: Place a mirror where you place your paper documents and look for reflections as above. |
The most effective ways to address glare are to:
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eliminate the source of the glare |
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block the source from your direct field of view or from appearing as a reflection |
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reposition yourself and your equipment so you don't see the source or its reflection |
Repositioning yourself and your equipment:
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Be careful not to create an awkward posture by trying to avoid glare. Follow guidelines on monitor and document positioning mentioned above. |
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Light is less likely to be a problem if it is from the side rather than in front or behind you |
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For writing tasks, position a task light on the side opposite your writing hand to reduce reading problems due to shadows |
If windows are the source of glare consider:
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window blinds or other types of window coverings. |
If office lights are the source of glare consider:
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removing light bulbs or tubes from offending light fixtures |
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using light fixture covers (e.g. parabolic louvres) that reduce the sideways scatter of light and consequently the intensity the glare |
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ensuring shields or lamp shades are in place so that you don't see light bulbs or tubes (or their reflections) |
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indirect or "up" lighting that softens the light by reflecting it from the ceiling |
For reflected glare on your computer monitor, consider a glare screen or hood (although addressing the source of the reflection is usually a more effective option).
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Glare screens: | |
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Like sunglasses for your monitor. | |
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Can reduce image quality. | |
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They vary in quality. Try before you buy. | |
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Look for American Optometric Association (AOA) approval | |
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Glare hoods: | |
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Like a visor for your monitor. | |
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Shields the monitor from the light source | |
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Experiment by placing a clipboard above or beside your monitor to see if you can eliminate the reflection | |
Air Quality
Low humidity or other air quality problems can also be sources of eye discomfort. If you feel there is an air quality problem in your office, contact your supervisor to arrange for testing.
For further advice, please don't hesitate to contact Mike Papakyriakou at mikepapa@yorku.ca or ext 33477 or take a look at more office ergonomics tips.