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More than two-thirds of employees experience symptoms of digital eye strain, which can negatively impact productivity and work effectiveness. Increasing screen time could be driving this eye ailment, which manifests as blurred vision, eye strain and dry, itchy eyes, according to VSP Vision Care’s new research report.
This is the second year VSP Vision Care has sponsored the research, conducted by Workplace Intelligence. The Workplace Vision Health Report surveyed 800 human resource benefit leaders and 800 full-time employees across the United States to discover how screen time may be impacting the prevalence of eye issues.
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On average, employees are logging nearly 100 hours a week of screen time, up a full hour per week compared with last year. More than one-third of that time is attributable to work tasks. The number of workers reporting at least one eye issue increased from 50% last year to 63% this year.
In addition to impacting productivity, digital eye strain impacts physical and mental wellbeing and overall quality of life, according to 51% of those surveyed. This includes fatigue, headaches, stress, anxiety, depression, mobility challenges and social isolation. Further, more than 1 in 4 employees have taken time off of work due to digital eye strain.
About 45% of employees feel their employer doesn’t care whether digital eye strain affects them and 59% said their employer should do more. While 89% of HR leaders surveyed said their organization should do more to help reduce digital eye strain, less than 6 in 10 have taken steps to help, including encouraging employees to take eye breaks, providing anti-glare screen protectors or offering flexible hours to allow employees to break up screen time.
“With screen time increasing and eye health worsening for much of today’s workforce, employees are looking to their employers to provide vision care as part of their health care benefits offerings,” said VSP Vision Care President Usha Patil. “By offering affordable high-quality vision benefits, encouraging regular eye exams, and managing factors that are contributing to worsening eye health, employers can help to support overall employee health, while also helping to foster loyalty and boost productivity.”
HR leaders estimate that 72% of their workforce is signed up for their company’s vision insurance plan. However, they say just 63% of enrolled employees actually used their vision benefits last year, either for themselves or a family member, according to the report.
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