Something’s been bugging me about my workstation all day, and I finally put my finger on it. One of the strips of flourecent lighting that is usually off is on today, and its causing glare near the top of my monitor. It’s been bugging me on a subconcious level. I only figured it out after playing with the angle of my screen and seeing the glare move.
I prefer to have the lighting directly over my head turned off, which was fine when I was in a bull-pen with like-minded individuals, or in a cubicle on my own. I was finaly able to compromise with the folks I’m sharing working space with now. The flourecents in the bullpen are off, the fixtures that create ambient light by bouncing it off the wall are on. (The light sources themselves are hidden abouve acoustic tiling, and there is a about a 3 foot gap between the tiling and the wall, allowing light to bounce down.) I actually like this set up much better than just having everything off.
There is a good-natured, running joke around here that some people would prefer to work in a cave. The fact is, they are just trying to cut down on monitor glare from the flourecent lights. I think the ambient light solution (described above) in this building is great, and I wish it was used a lot more. Why can’t all the fixtures just bounce light off the ceiling?
Anyway, I went over to the wall and played with the switches for my immediate area. I was able to get rid of the glare on my screen, and I don’t think I’ve affected anyone else’s light levels too much. The people that are still here in my immediate area are fine with the changes I just made. I guess I’ll see if I have to do some negotiating about the lights when I come in tomorrow.
Another advantage to the current lighting: my lava lamp looks so much cooler now. 🙂
