5 minute read
Vision Care: The Overlooked Key to Workplace Wellness and Productivity
By Jonathan Ormsby, Transitions Optical
Employers have long prioritized medical, dental, and mental health coverage. Yet one critical dimension of health remains undervalued: vision care—and this oversight carries real costs.
The 2025 Transitions Optical Workplace Wellness Survey reveals poor vision health can be a hidden drain on employee well-being and productivity. Light sensitivity, eye strain, and fatigue are taking a measurable toll—especially in today’s screen-heavy workplaces, where more than half of employees spend six-plus hours a day on devices. By day’s end, 92 percent report discomfort like light sensitivity, tired or dry eyes, headaches, and blurry vision, and 71 percent say eye fatigue/light sensitivity directly undermines their performance. (The 2025 Transitions Workplace Wellness Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 nationally representative U.S. office professionals, employed full-time, between August 13 and 19, 2025, using an email invitation and an online survey).
For brokers, the takeaway is clear: overlooking vision care means missing a major driver of workplace efficiency and satisfaction. Including premium options like Transitions® GEN S™ lenses in vision plans allows brokers to help employers deliver real value—better vision, better well-being, and ultimately, better business results.
The Cost of Overlooking Vision Care
Vision issues do not just cause discomfort, they disrupt work. Nearly half of employees (49%) admit they struggle to concentrate due to vision issues; 41 percent say workflow is interrupted when they need to rest their eyes; 42 percent report feeling less productive or more irritable; and 29 percent acknowledge more typos and errors in their work. These are measurable hits to output quality. Despite these challenges, vision care is often overlooked. Six in ten employees are more likely to take time off for dental visits than for eye exams, and only 34 percent say their workplace regularly addresses eye health (2025 Transitions Workplace Wellness Survey).
This disconnect represents a blind spot in wellness strategies—but also an opportunity. By advising on premium vision coverage, and resources to promote vision benefits, brokers can help employers position themselves as forward-thinking leaders in employee care. The business case is strong. Ignoring vision care means lost time and reduced engagement. Investing in it signals commitment, boosting morale and retention. Nearly 70 percent of employees say vision insurance is an important part of a benefits package (Ragan Communications, 2023) and 43 percent of people who quit a job cite benefits (or lack of benefits) as a factor in their decision (Pew Research Center, 2022).
What Employees Want
Employees value employer support for eye health, including:
Educational materials on digital eye strain and prevention (52%)
Reminders to take screen breaks throughout the day (52%)
Annual overview of what their vision benefits include (48%)
Employees also recognize the importance of annual eye exams—covered in premium vision plans—for early detection of eye diseases (67%) and for solutions to issues such as dry eye, strain, and light sensitivity (63%).
Beyond preventive care, employees are looking for tools that help them adapt to their environment. With 68 percent saying bright or changing light conditions interfere with their work, it is no surprise that workers see adaptive solutions as essential to managing light sensitivity and staying productive (2025 Transitions Workplace Wellness Survey).
For brokers, the takeaway is clear: overlooking vision care means missing a major driver of workplace efficiency and satisfaction
Premium Vision Benefits Matter
This is where premium vision benefits come in. Employees know eye care requires the right tools. Many say they already use anti-reflective lenses (33%) to reduce strain at work—but insurance coverage of premium options that address light sensitivity matters most.
69 percent would purchase Transitions® lenses if fully covered by insurance
83 percent say a prescription from their eye doctor would significantly increase their likelihood of purchasing them
Even if only partially covered, nearly half (46%) say they would pay out of pocket (2025 Transitions Workplace Wellness Survey)
Transitions GEN S™ Lenses: Ideal for Today’s Work Environments
Employees recognize lighting situations where eyeglass lenses that adjust from clear to dark—like Transitions® lenses—can help protect their eyes, with 60 percent citing UV rays from the sun and 57 percent pointing to constantly changing light conditions (2025 Transitions Workplace Wellness Survey). Transitions® GEN S™ lenses automatically adapt to changing light, darkening when outdoors and returning to clear when indoors, offering ultimate light protection by blocking 100% UVA and UVB rays and filtering blue-violet light indoors and outdoors. (Block 100% UVA & UVB rays, darken outdoors & filters up to 32% of blue-violet light indoors & up to 85% outdoors. Blue-violet light is measured between 400nm and 455 nm (ISOTR20772:2018) across colors on polycarbonate & CR39 lenses).
Among premium options, Transitions® GEN S™ lenses stand out as particularly relevant for the modern workplace. The lenses—available on all major vision care plans—are engineered to face the challenging light situations employees may experience in common working environments, enhancing the vision experience, eye comfort, and style in all lights. (Wearers Test conducted by an external market research agency in the USA in Q1, 2023 with 133 wearers wearing 1.67 index lenses with a premium anti-reflective coating in clear and grey Transitions® GEN S™ & Transitions® Signature® GEN 8™). The 2025 Workplace Wellness Survey makes it clear: vision care is not peripheral. It directly affects how employees feel, function, and perform. By making premium vision care—specifically, Transitions® GEN S™ lenses—central to benefit plans, brokers can help employers unlock productivity gains and demonstrate care for their people in meaningful, measurable ways.
Jonathan Ormsby is a Senior Manager – U.S. Managed Care for Transitions Optical.
