Office Workers Spend Nearly 1,700 Hours A Year In Front Of Computer Screens

Deposit Photos

Anyone who’s ever worked in an office will know all too well the feeling of tiredness and burning eyes at the end of a long day.

But when you actually sit down and add it up, the amount of hours you spend squinting at your computer or laptop screen is kind of worrying.

Indeed, according to dismal new research, your average office worker will spend nearly 1,700 hours a year plonked in front of a computer screen – not an ideal scenario for ensuring tip-top vision.

PBS

This research – commissioned by ACUVUE – examined 2,000 office workers, and found this sort of excessive computer staring is playing havoc with our eyesight.

A sizeable 37 per cent of office workers admitted to enlarging the text on their computer screen in order to be able to see it.

One in four have even been forced to drag their screen closer, in order to bring their work into clearer focus.

Katie McGeechan, from ACUVUE, said:

Computers are a relatively new concept – for millions now, staring at a screen all day is the norm.

However if you look back just a few decades, far fewer of us would have spent the day looking into the same glowing rectangle, and when you add mobile phones into the mix, we’re putting our eyes through a lot every day.

Office workers appear to appreciate time away from the screen, with 53 per cent aiming to take regular screen breaks to keep eye strain and tiredness at bay.

Thirty-one per cent of those who take a break from their screen do so specifically in order to give their eyes a rest from looking at screens.

NBC

Among those who didn’t take regular screen breaks, 48 per cent suffered from eye dryness or tired eyes, with 37 per cent reporting headaches due to relentless screen time.

Despite these findings, 71 per cent of the surveyed office workers regard themselves to be generally fit and healthy adults.

Worryingly, one in five have dodged their optician for over two years and over half confessed to paying less attention to their eye health than any other facet of their personal health.

Walt Disney Television

Office workers suffering from the symptoms of excessive screen time may well benefit from ACUVUE® OASYS 1-Day Brand Contact Lenses with HydraLuxe™ Technology lenses.

According to the Acuvue website:

Because a lot happens in 1 day, ACUVUE OASYS® 1-Day helps you keep up with your demanding days.

Designed with HydraLuxe™ Technology, that works with the tear film in your eye, ACUVUE OASYS® 1-Day helps reduce the feeling of tired eyes and provides excellent performance on comfort, vision and handling throughout your demanding days.

20th Century Fox

Look, I’m the sort of person who puts eye tests off until they’re literally falling out of my own skull. Even then I’d probably have an accidental weekend lie in and forget about it.

However, this really isn’t a good attitude to have if you want to protect the precious, easily damaged gift of sight throughout your life.

Get yourself booked in to see an optician, and make sure to look after your eyes throughout the working day.

If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]

Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.