A Contagious Aversion to Overhead Lights

Dear Work Friend,

I manage a team of about 20 people in an open-plan office suite. A few months ago, one of my staff members asked that we disconnect the overhead lighting above his pod because he is prone to migraines. His co-workers didn’t object, so I complied. That corner of the office is now permanently dark, which isn’t ideal, but I’ve been willing to tolerate it.

Last week, a worker in another corner of the office asked to work from home in the morning because her husband’s schedule had changed and she needed to be home to care for her two preschoolers. I said she could change her schedule if necessary, but not work from home while also caring for a 2- and 4-year-old. She escalated to the union, but the union supported my decision.

Yesterday, she came back with a request to have the lights above her desk disconnected as well, saying she also suffers from migraines. Today, a third employee, a close friend of the second, said that she, too, suffers migraines and needs the lights disabled. This feels like a retaliatory protest, and obviously, I cannot agree to the entire office being plunged into a perpetual state of gloom with no overhead lights.

My question is, in declining the two new requests, should I then also revert to full lighting for the whole office? That feels like penalizing a person with a legitimate health need for two disgruntled staffers.

— Anonymous

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/11/business/office-lighting-work-advice.html