You light up my office

Working remotely generally leads to happier, more productive employees.

But companies aren’t paying for office space for nothing, so return-to-office mandates are the new norm.

But it doesn’t have to be miserable

Some companies are trying to make their offices less inhospitable with more pleasant lighting, per The Wall Street Journal.

• Searing yellow fluorescents are out, replaced by adjustable LED bulbs that can offer different color temperatures and intensities.
• Which is great, as cooler colors are better for concentration.

No natural light? No problem. Bay Area-based Innerscene offers fake skylights and windows that can sample the color of the sky and adjust accordingly.

That’s almost as good as not being at work!

It’s not just windows

Some offices are holding events and readjusting layouts to give workers more flexibility — but is that what they want?

One survey found that only 37% of workers would happily return for better amenities, while 65% said that a raise would get them to embrace RTO — which is exactly what celebrity video-messaging service Cameo is doing.

• In February, Cameo offered $10k raises to employees willing to return to its Chicago office 4x a week.
• Every eligible employee took the deal (there were only 26, but still).

So if your boss is pushing for RTO, tell them you want either $10k… or better lighting.