Protective eyewear remains central to laboratory eye safety, but goggles and safety glasses address only part of the visual demands employees face during the workday. A new workplace survey suggests that screen use, lighting, digital displays, and workstation design also deserve attention as organizations assess employee eye health.
The 2026 Workplace Vision Health Report from VSP Vision Care and Workplace Intelligence surveyed 1,200 full-time US employees and 800 HR or employee-benefit leaders. The study was not specific to laboratories, but its inclusion of both desk and non-desk workers offers findings relevant to environments where employees move between hands-on tasks and digital systems.
Digital eye strain reaches beyond desk jobs
Sixty-seven percent of workers surveyed said they experienced digital eye strain, including 71 percent of desk workers and 59 percent of non-desk workers. Respondents associated symptoms with extended use of computers, smartphones, and other electronic devices, as well as factors such as screen glare, lighting, viewing distance, and posture.
For laboratories, the findings provide a reason to consider visual demands across the entire workflow. Bench-based employees may also spend significant time interacting with instrument interfaces, reviewing results, documenting work, or analyzing data. The report found that non-desk workers who frequently used digital displays were nearly twice as likely to report digital eye strain as non-desk workers who did not frequently use them.
Lab managers can incorporate these demands into broader strategies for reducing eye strain and vision problems in the lab, particularly for roles that combine screens with microscopy, instrumentation, or other visually intensive tasks.
Lighting and workstation setup also matter
Nearly half of employees surveyed said their job negatively affected their eye health. Workers identified excessive screen time, excessively dim or bright lighting, poor screen or digital-display setup, and poor workplace setup among the factors contributing to eye strain.
These findings align with established laboratory ergonomics considerations, which include microscope positioning, workstation adjustability, task breaks, and equipment placement. Lighting is another design consideration: laboratory lighting strategies need to accommodate different tasks and visual requirements rather than relying on a single approach throughout a facility.
“As the way we work continues to evolve, so do the demands on our vision,” said Valerie Sheety-Pilon, senior vice president of clinical and medical affairs at VSP Vision Care.
Assess visual demands as part of the workflow
For labs where protective eyewear is already required for specific hazards and tasks, the report points to a separate management question: whether the work environment supports employees during prolonged visual tasks.
That assessment can include where monitors and instrument displays are positioned, whether lighting creates glare or makes detailed work difficult, how long employees perform microscope or screen-intensive tasks without changing activities, and whether workstations accommodate the people using them. These factors can also be considered early when planning a lab design or renovation, alongside equipment, workflow, infrastructure, and staffing needs.
The report does not establish the prevalence of digital eye strain specifically among laboratory workers. Still, it provides a useful reminder that protecting eyesight at work involves both acute hazards and the everyday visual demands built into how employees perform their jobs.
This article was created with the assistance of Generative AI and has undergone editorial review before publishing.
