UK 
United States
When it comes to employee wellbeing, eye health is unlikely to be the first thing that springs to mind. Yet, in this ‘digital-first’ world, many employees are spending more and more time staring at screens each day.
In fact, research has pointed towards the staggering amount of time that desk-based workers spend looking at a computer screen. 2018 research commissioned by ACUVUE found that the average office worker spent 1,700 hours per year in front of a computer screen. This equated to an average of six and a half hours per day.
In addition to this, 2020 data commissioned by Vision Direct , found that the average adult will spend the equivalent of 34 years of their life staring at screens, with more than 4,866 hours a year on average spent using phones, laptops and televisions. With a large portion of people working at home – in light of Government guidelines – and relying on technology to keep connected, it is possible that employees could be spending longer on computers and other gadgets.
EXCLUSIVE | Greene King's HRD on pandemic wellbeing
This increased use of technology coupled with an increased workday – as several data sets have pointed towards – could suggest that employees are spending more time looking at computer screens throughout the working week. For example, a recent study of 3.1million global workers – which was published by the National Bureau of Economic Relations and looked at employee behaviour before and after COVID-19 lockdown periods – found that the working day lasted almost an hour longer.
