Rob is the partner of journalist Maike Jeuken, who works for the Good Light Group lamp Sparckel. He took the opportunity to work in this "good light". For three weeks, the lamp shone on his home workplace.
What does your workplace look like?
Rob: "The cellar in our house was actually the music room. My mancave to play drums and piano. In the time of Corona, it became my workplace by necessity. Not ideal, but it could have been worse. I saw people passing by who, in a busy home with home schooling, would go to the bathroom to have a 'quiet' conversation. So I was fine there, in that basement."
Was there enough daylight in your temporary workplace?
"No, there is hardly any daylight in the basement, but that didn't bother me. With some lamps and my PC, I could work in peace and quiet. Every two hours I crept out of my 'hole' to stretch my legs or get coffee. At the top of the cellar stairs, I noticed how light it was outside and how dark it was down there. Anyway, I thought, the lockdown won't last that long now, will it?
Had you ever used a daylight lamp before?
"To be honest, I associated it mainly with photography. I didn't know about a daylight lamp for at home or at work. And I was quite sceptical, because what is 'good light'? At the same time, it made me curious; what would I notice of such a daylight lamp at my temporary workplace? Especially in that basement."
How did you like working with 'good light'?
"It was a completely different experience. I was much fitter and could work much better. It really did something to my concentration, I had a better focus. At meetings with images, I would turn the lights down a little because my dead white head was rather frightening. And after the meeting I turned the light intensity up again. The only downside was that I had to hand it back. From that moment on, I don't like this workstation any more. It's a world of difference.