Purpose The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) recommends researchers to investigate a wide variety of behavioural and health outcomes. However, researchers often investigate only a part of occupational health (OH) in relation to light. A literature study (2002–2017) regarding the relationship between office lighting conditions and OH was performed to identify gaps and methodological issues. Method The OH outcomes investigated in this paper were grouped according to the International Classification of Diseases and analysed per category: physical and physiological health, mental health, eye health, sleep parameters and visual comfort. Results Findings from the literature study (20 eligible papers) showed that all OH aspects were mostly but not exclusively measured subjectively. Furthermore, most studies investigated only a fraction of office lighting parameters and OH aspects. Conclusions It seems that Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) and illuminance mainly correlate with OH. However, this may also be explained by gaps and methodological issues in studies described in eligible papers. Based on the literature study, an overview was composed elucidating gaps and methodological issues of office lighting and OH studies. It can be used to design and target the purpose of light and health research.

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Light enables us to see and perceive our environment but it also initiates effects beyond vision, such as alertness. Literature describes that at least six factors are relevant for initiating effects beyond vision. The exact relationship between these factors and alertness is not yet fully understood. In the current field study, personal lighting conditions of 62 Dutch office workers (aged 49.7 ± 11.4 years) were continuously measured and simultaneously self-reported activities and locations during the day were gathered via diaries. Each office worker participated 10 working days in spring 2017. Personal lighting conditions were interpreted based on four of the six factors (light quantity, spectrum, timing, and duration of light exposure). Large individual differences were found for the daily luminous exposures, illuminances, correlated colour temperatures, and irradiances measured with the blue sensor area of the dosimeter. The average illuminance (over all participants and all days) over the course of the day peaked three times. The analysis of the duration of light exposure demonstrated that the participants were on average only exposed to an illuminance above 1000 lx for 72 minutes per day. The interpretation of personal lighting conditions based on the four factors provides essential information since all of these factors may be relevant for initiating effects beyond vision. The findings in the current paper give first in-depth insight in the possibilities to interpret personal lighting conditions of office workers.

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