LIGHTING FOR SALE OR SELLING HEALTH: POSSIBLE CONFLICTS IN RETAIL LIGHTING AND EMPLOYEE'S SATISFACTION AND WELL BEING

摘要

The quality of lighting has always been acomplex concept widely discussed by the international academic community [1]. In the late 80s, studies began in various countries in an attempt to establish qualitative guidelines for lighting design projects, and various congresses and events throughout the world have made this their focus point. In light of the above situation, we decided to address this topic of the quality of artificial lighting in the retail setting, mostly focusing on small stores (up to 100 m~(2)) in malls in the city of Porto Alegre, a city with a population of 1.360.560 in the South of Brazil. The main objective of this first research was to analyze the composite issues and aspects related to lighting's ability to enhance the image and products, and to assess consumer perception of the store's lighting. Two studies followed this initial study and as they unfolded it became evident that the greatest volume of observations made in the Post-Occupation Assessment was related to problems faced by the employees of these stores and not by the customers. The displeasure was mostly expressed through complaints of having to work in environments without windows and subject to artificial lighting most of the day or into the night, depending on their shift. The main problems identified were the difficulty of time orientation, lack of visual contact with the outdoors, excess or lack of lighting to carry out their tasks, along with problems related to non-visual issues such as excess of heat or noise produced by the artificial light sources. Currently, all the concerns related to retail store lighting are apparently directed towards a smooth sales process that takes into consideration the product and consumer behavior [2]. What is proposed here is a change of focus since the comfort of the employees seems to be at risk as well as their health, to a greater or lesser extent, and consequently their productivity. The advance of research has already shown the relationship between health and lighting even though the doses of light have not yet been determined. Based on these early studies, it is our intention to carry out new research into the lighting quality in retail stores from the point of view of employees' comfort, health, and well-being, in an effort to establish the photometric conditions that meet these requirements and the extent of the impact of new technologies such as colorful lighting and active light on the workplace.