A guide to contact lens care and safety in the workplace

To enable workplaces to evolve and adapt to employees’ changing needs, office provider Mindspace conducted the Employee Wellbeing Data Report in 2023. Findings indicate that around 90 percent or 9 in 10 employees value wellbeing facilities and offerings in the workplace, thus making this factor influential when choosing an employer. Meanwhile, 82 percent expect support from their employers when it comes to maintaining work-life balance, overall revealing the increasing value employees place on their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

But beyond looking at factors like flexible working hours, healthy meal offerings, and improved health insurance, employees can also protect their wellbeing by being aware of workplace health and safety practices. Such practices apply to their use of eyewear for vision correction and protection. Besides eyeglass wearers, the 3.9 million contact lens wearers in the UK must also take into account proper care and hygiene as they meet visual demands in the workplace. Contact lenses can make them prone not only to eye symptoms like dryness and fatigue but also to eye infection due to dirt and dust getting in the eyes — highlighting the need for the following care and safety tips.

Wear contact lenses with digital protection

As more and more offices ride the wave of digital transformation, employees have to spend longer hours in front of digital screens. However, electronic devices like computers, tablets, and smartphones can emit blue light, which otherwise compromises one’s vision and increases the risk of eye problems like dry eyes and eye strain through prolonged exposure.

In the same way, eyeglasses can come with blue light filtering lenses, contact lens wearers can also get their corrective eyewear with digital protection. Those who shop for contact lenses online at Lenstore can find lenses suited not only to their prescription needs and wear time preferences but also to their digital-oriented lifestyle. For instance, Dailies AquaComfort Plus provide all-day comfort through blink-activated moisture and blue light-blocking features.

Use hydrating eye drops

Contact lenses can be convenient to wear in the workplace since they provide seamless corrected vision and a wider field of view, thus allowing employees to optimise their performance and productivity. However, as previously mentioned, wearing them for uninterrupted periods can cause dry eyes or soreness since the eyes produce fewer tears.

Fortunately, these symptoms can be remedied through the use of rewetting or hydrating eye drops. For example, the Eye Doctor Advanced Triple Action Eye Drops, which were recently launched in the UK, can provide instant relief and hydration to dry eyes through lubricating ingredients like trehalose, sacha inchi seed oil, and hyaluronic acid. The product has a lipid-based formula and can target all three layers of the tear film, making it suitable even for contact lens wearers.

Keep workstations clean

As employees work with touchscreen devices and desktop components like the mouse and keyboard, it makes it easy for the dirt and dust on these surfaces to get in the eye, especially when contact lens wearers have the habit of rubbing and wiping their eyes. So, it helps to clean workstations regularly to avoid contributing to or worsening eye symptoms like dryness, soreness, and irritation. Employees must also sanitise their hands properly before applying or removing their contact lenses, as bacterial and viral infections can arise from direct contact between the hand and the eye.

By incorporating these contact lens care and safety tips into their daily work routine, employees with vision impairments can continue enjoying the benefits of corrected vision without worrying about their overall eye health. Continue reading the news and articles here at Workplace Insight for more resources on employee health, wellbeing, and management.