What do an RATP agent and a salesperson in a shopping center have in common? Both work in spaces lit only by artificial lights. A situation that also affects office workers, sometimes isolated in “blind premises”, rooms cut off from the outside. “Daylight has unsuspected benefits on the human body,” says Karen Recchi, sophrologist who practices light therapy (treatment using artificial light reproducing daylight). However, no lighting replaces solar energy. »
Julien Fondard travels more than 100 kilometers a day at a depth of 6 meters. He is a metro driver in Paris on line 2, which connects Nation to Porte Dauphine. In his driver’s cabin, a neon. He can only use it during maintenance operations. Along the tunnels, dim lights are placed every 5 meters so that he can remain attentive to the traffic lights. A working environment to which he is “used” and which “does not bother” him. But when he resurfaces, between the few air stations that connect Barbès to Jaurès, the driver recognizes that “it’s nice to see the light of day”.
To improve the working conditions of drivers, reception agents and controllers, but also the comfort of passengers, the RATP is seeking to recreate a “daylight feeling” in the corridors of the metro. “Lighting is installed on the floor, on the walls and in the transition spaces to the outside,” explains Lorenzo Sancho de Coulhac, head of the standards and design unit. Warm lights, over 200 lux (the unit of measurement of the illumination of a surface), are preferred. »
This lighting threshold is set by the Labor Code. Since 2008, a decree stipulates that companies must adapt the level of lighting to the nature of the work to be carried out.
Sunglasses at work
But in some cases, these arrangements are not enough. Lucy (name has been changed) is a saleswoman in a business nestled in a basement of the Paris metro. Here, there is no opening to the outside: “I never know if it’s sunny or if it’s raining,” she regrets. Every evening, it’s a surprise. The only source of lighting in this 15 m2 shop: 18 spotlights suspended from the ceiling and aimed at the displays. Conditions that can be difficult in some cases.
The 28-year-old employee suffers from migraines. With sometimes nausea which can be exacerbated by exposure to these artificial white lights. “If I stare at a lamp for a second or two, I feel like throwing up,” says the woman who sometimes wears sunglasses behind the counter. His latest crisis? Two months ago, when she took refuge in the toilets of the gallery, the only room plunged into darkness, where she manages to free herself from these “hammer blows” on the skull.
Lucie feels the consequences of this hypersensitivity until the evening, when she returns to her home. She suffers from insomnia. No wonder for expert Karen Recchi: “The lack of natural light disrupts the internal clock and hormonal secretions. Other consequences: stress, joint pain, even depressive episodes.
“It’s a bit of a cave”
But what about office workers? In the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, the Unicorners, a coworking café, welcomes teams in a main room but also… in the basement. Here, no window, but a handful of light tiles, two in each room. They would produce an intensity of 428 lux, well above the threshold recommended by the Labor Code. In the corridor, a dragon tree, a shrub with thick foliage, touches the ceiling. A sign that “the lighting is perfect”, smiles Alexandre, manager of the establishment.
This is where the six employees of Kaiwo, a brand image management company, have been settling every day for the past year. “It’s a bit of a cave,” concedes Theo, 22, co-founder of the company. Regardless, he prefers to see the “warm” side of the stone walls and the accent lamps arranged here and there. But there is no question for him of stifling his employees: “With us, the breaks are free. And at noon, we take two hours to eat in a park. »
Arranging the schedule of employees is one solution among others to compensate for the lack of exposure to natural light. “The company can also invest in light therapy lamps, suggests Karen Recchi. Occupational doctors can offer, on a case-by-case basis, vitamin D cures, which participate in hormonal regulation. “You still have to be aware of the problem: “Most of my patients do not realize that their discomfort is linked to artificial lighting”, she regrets.