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Adding this to my collection of reasons why remote work is better. My home office has direct sunlight from 10:00-16:00 every day of the year. I've never been to

Adding this to my collection of reasons why remote work is better. My home office has direct sunlight from 10:00-16:00 every day of the year. I've never been to a commercial office that comes close.

noitpmeder 3y ago
You mean why work from home is better _for you_. Can't imagine most people have uninterrupted access to sunlight throughout the day. If we're using personal experiences, I certainly have never lived in a house or apartment where any of the rooms had that luxury.
- hackernewds 3y ago
  which is why the _option_ of working in the office is the best :)
- draven 3y ago
  I've never lived in a house or flat where the rooms didn't have a window. I wonder if that's a regulation here (France), that wouldn't surprise me. Also, the labor law mandates windows and as much natural light as possible in offices.
  - jwestbury 3y ago
    Eh -- most home offices tend to end up in bedrooms, which in the US are obligated to have a window that a person could fit through (or to have some other secondary exit aside from a door). One problem is where the window faces. A north-facing window, or a window facing into a hillside or into a courtyard, does not allow sufficient sunlight. In London, my flat is in a Victorian terraced house, and the bedroom I'd use as a home office has a window which only has views of the house next door, and very little natural light. (That said, probably still more natural light than I got in my office, where I'm essentially in a corridor.)
    - Broken_Hippo 3y ago
      That might be a code where you live, but either it isn't universal or older places are exempt. My first apartment - which still rents out, decades later, had a small windowless bedroom with only a door for an exit. The nearest window was blocked by the kitchen sink.
      - loloquwowndueo 3y ago
        Older places are not exempt. It’s probably a matter of lack of enforcement. People die in those places, man: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-old-port-fire-1.6788756 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-old-port-fi...
  - throwaway290 3y ago
    How much use is a window if you live near a north-facing hillside in higher latitudes, inside arctic circle, etc...
- aiisjustanif 3y ago
  Faster for me to get outside and walk while working from home than the office.
- ryanjshaw 3y ago
  > MY collection of reasons
hackly 3y ago
Some people only get sunlight from stepping out of their tiny homes or basement offices to go work at the office.
DoingIsLearning 3y ago
A large fraction of UV radiation is blocked even by single pane glass. If the 'health' benefit or bio signal for this effect, requires UV radiation then there is very little that can substitute being outside for 1 or 2 hours a day depending on the season.
- graphe 3y ago
  You don't need 100% UVI 11 damage 1-2hr a day. That large fraction removed is functioning well for him and preventing him from sunburn.
- InSteady 3y ago
  If we are talking about humans and the hormones associated with the 24-hour sleep/wake cycle, they are largely influenced by blue light which is in the visible spectrum. It's part of why screens without orange-shifting software will tend to keep you wide awake at night. Interestingly, red wave (IR) light appears to influence cortisol levels but not melatonin. [1] IR also makes it through windows as any cat can attest. Getting outside for an hour or two as often as possible, regardless of the season, is probably a good idea, but it doesn't appear to be strictly necessary for modulating circadian rhythms. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2905913/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2905913/
maccard 3y ago
I used to work in an office block. I had a corner desk on the southwest of the building overlooking a park, with floor to ceiling glass. It was miserable. The direct light was blinding during the summer,and during the winter the sun didn't clear the top of the window so I got direct light straight at either me or my screens. I tried every orientation. COVID solved that problem but the next step was blackout blinds, which defeats the purpose a little
INTPenis 3y ago
Absolutely. I've been working flex hours for 12 years, and from home for 6 years, and I live in northern europe. So every winter I actually take a long 2 hour walk during lunch to get some sun. Then I work later once the sun has set. This should be the standard for all office workers in northern latitudes. But we're so stuck in our ways that we use the same work schedule all year even though the weather is clearly different.

Adding this to my collection of reasons why remote work is better. My home office has direct sunlight from 10:00-16:00 every day of the year. I've never been to a commercial office that comes close.

noitpmeder 3y ago

You mean why work from home is better _for you_. Can't imagine most people have uninterrupted access to sunlight throughout the day. If we're using personal experiences, I certainly have never lived in a house or apartment where any of the rooms had that luxury.

hackernewds 3y ago
which is why the _option_ of working in the office is the best :)
draven 3y ago
I've never lived in a house or flat where the rooms didn't have a window. I wonder if that's a regulation here (France), that wouldn't surprise me. Also, the labor law mandates windows and as much natural light as possible in offices.
- jwestbury 3y ago
  Eh -- most home offices tend to end up in bedrooms, which in the US are obligated to have a window that a person could fit through (or to have some other secondary exit aside from a door). One problem is where the window faces. A north-facing window, or a window facing into a hillside or into a courtyard, does not allow sufficient sunlight. In London, my flat is in a Victorian terraced house, and the bedroom I'd use as a home office has a window which only has views of the house next door, and very little natural light. (That said, probably still more natural light than I got in my office, where I'm essentially in a corridor.)
  - Broken_Hippo 3y ago
    That might be a code where you live, but either it isn't universal or older places are exempt. My first apartment - which still rents out, decades later, had a small windowless bedroom with only a door for an exit. The nearest window was blocked by the kitchen sink.
    - loloquwowndueo 3y ago
      Older places are not exempt. It’s probably a matter of lack of enforcement. People die in those places, man: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-old-port-fire-1.6788756 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-old-port-fi...
- throwaway290 3y ago
  How much use is a window if you live near a north-facing hillside in higher latitudes, inside arctic circle, etc...
aiisjustanif 3y ago
Faster for me to get outside and walk while working from home than the office.
ryanjshaw 3y ago
> MY collection of reasons

hackly 3y ago

Some people only get sunlight from stepping out of their tiny homes or basement offices to go work at the office.

DoingIsLearning 3y ago

A large fraction of UV radiation is blocked even by single pane glass. If the 'health' benefit or bio signal for this effect, requires UV radiation then there is very little that can substitute being outside for 1 or 2 hours a day depending on the season.

graphe 3y ago
You don't need 100% UVI 11 damage 1-2hr a day. That large fraction removed is functioning well for him and preventing him from sunburn.
InSteady 3y ago
If we are talking about humans and the hormones associated with the 24-hour sleep/wake cycle, they are largely influenced by blue light which is in the visible spectrum. It's part of why screens without orange-shifting software will tend to keep you wide awake at night. Interestingly, red wave (IR) light appears to influence cortisol levels but not melatonin. [1] IR also makes it through windows as any cat can attest. Getting outside for an hour or two as often as possible, regardless of the season, is probably a good idea, but it doesn't appear to be strictly necessary for modulating circadian rhythms. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2905913/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2905913/

maccard 3y ago

I used to work in an office block. I had a corner desk on the southwest of the building overlooking a park, with floor to ceiling glass. It was miserable. The direct light was blinding during the summer,and during the winter the sun didn't clear the top of the window so I got direct light straight at either me or my screens. I tried every orientation. COVID solved that problem but the next step was blackout blinds, which defeats the purpose a little

INTPenis 3y ago

Absolutely. I've been working flex hours for 12 years, and from home for 6 years, and I live in northern europe. So every winter I actually take a long 2 hour walk during lunch to get some sun. Then I work later once the sun has set. This should be the standard for all office workers in northern latitudes. But we're so stuck in our ways that we use the same work schedule all year even though the weather is clearly different.