Few people realize that 90% of the information necessary for our daily activities, and therefore our productivity, is transmitted to the brain through our eyes. Having good vision is not only about personal well-being and health; it also has an indirect financial impact because impaired vision can lead to a loss of productivity or even a decrease in workers’ income.
Over the last years, multiple research reports have been alerting on global trends in visual impairments due to lifestyle changes and the prevalence of screens in our daily lives. Projections on the development of myopia show that 1 in 2 people will be affected by myopia by 2050. Also, people ignore that over 40 years old, 85% of the people suffer from presbyopia (near vision),. While eye health has long been considered a personal issue, it is also proven that employers have a role to play in the eye health of their employees and return on investment is important.
The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness \IAPB\ emphasizes that 33% of workers worldwide have uncorrected vision that could be improved, and many workers develop visual impairments due to their professional activities. About 90% of those affected by visual defaults live in low- and middle-income countries. Other studies have also estimated the cost to the global economy of certain visual impairments such as presbyopia that remain untreated in a significant proportion. Presbyopia alone would cost the global economy more than $25 billion a year in lost productivity. It should be noted that addressing presbyopia, although inexpensive compared to other vision problems, has a considerable impact both individually (access to employment and decent income, increased productivity) and collectively.
As the World Day for Health and Safety at Work on April 28th and Labor Day on May 1st are approaching, it is essential to start combining health, safety, and productivity at work! As a major player in eye health in Africa, the pan-African optician Lapaire is joining efforts to raise awareness among all employers but also more broadly among all (future) workers to take care of their eye health. Because they will all benefit from it!
Investing in eye health certainly has a cost, but it also has many benefits:
- The well-being and self-confidence of the worker in all daily activities:
Correcting visual impairments relieves blurry vision up close or far away, focusing and concentration difficulties, headaches, eye fatigue, sleep problems, or difficulties in driving or performing precision work.
- Improving work efficiency and productivity:
Untreated visual impairments, especially uncorrected ones often lead to a decrease in worker productivity but can also lead to absenteeism or even job loss or early retirement.
However, addressing vision problems can allow workers to be more focused and effective, more mobile and active in their tasks, and this for longer. In 2020, a study by Lancet Discovery Science on the economic impact of visual impairment and its causes estimated that each year the global annual economic productivity loss associated with visual impairment amounts to approximately $411 billion.
- Assurance of boosted income:
While the non-treatment of visual impairments has a cost for the global economy, it is now proven that investing in eye health ensures individual financial benefits as well as benefits for the company.
According to recent studies, every dollar spent on correcting a refractive error would produce $36 in benefits. It is therefore a highly profitable investment. Therefore, investing in the prevention and eye health of workers is a strategic decision for companies to maintain or even boost their productivity and revenues.
It is also essential to circulate within the community of workers good habits to prevent, avoid, and correct visual problems such as having an eye test every year in case of significant vision problems or every 2 years if the vision problem is taken care of and monitored by an eye specialist.
For each profession, different risks are associated, and different practices must be adopted. For example, wearing protective glasses for jobs exposing the eyes to debris, burns, or other projections; wearing glasses with blue block lenses to protect against screen light for office jobs and the habit of taking screen breaks every 20 minutes to rest the eyes; wearing reading glasses for jobs requiring a lot of precision and close work; wearing a hat and sunglasses or photochromic lenses for jobs requiring a lot of outdoor sun exposure.
It is with this in mind that the Lapaire group is conducting an awareness campaign “My Eyes, My Best Work Tool” from April 24th to May 1st 2024 to share these learnings and good practices with all employers, workers, and future workers. This campaign will consist of various actions such as communications in the media and on social networks and educational workshops conducted by an Optometrist within various organizations and companies committed to the health of their workers.
About Lapaire
Since 2018, Lapaire has been revolutionizing access to eye care in Africa by making trendy eyeglasses accessible to all! Over 300,000 people have already trusted Lapaire’s expertise to test their vision in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Togo, and Uganda.