What image appears in your mind when someone says, accountant?
Most people would imagine an old gentleman with a well-ironed shirt, spectacles with thick glass, and a green visor. He would probably be accompanied by heavy registers, ledgers, and an intense light above his head. Surely, it would be an image of an accountant if you ask someone who doesn’t belong to the 21st century.
With the evolution of accounting standards and practices, the role and outlook of accountants have also changed. They’re more dynamic, multi-tasking, extroverts, and social. People of different natures, backgrounds, and social orientations study and practice accounting. Therefore, accountants are not necessarily supposed to have a studious appearance.
In this article, we will discuss why did accountants wear green eyeshades in the past and do accountants still wear visors current days. We will also discuss other things about practicing accountants. So let’s get into it without a further ado.
Do Accountants Wear Green Visors?
The answer is technical.
If we talk about modern-day accountants, they do not wear green visors. However, if we go back to the 18th or 19th century, the accountants, copyeditors, bookkeepers, etc., used to wear green visors on their job.
The attire, appearance, and job description of an accountant in the modern age are entirely different from what they used to be in the past. Once an important part of an accountant’s outlook, the green visors have become irrelevant, and accountants do not need to wear them anymore.
Why?
We will discuss it in the next parts of the article.
History of Wearing Visors
The history of green eyeshades or visors as an important part of an accountant’s attire dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries. It was common for copyeditors, bookkeepers, telegraphers, and accountants to wear the green eyeshades/visors.
It was considered an important occupational health and safety equipment for the vision-intensive job of the mentioned professionals.
There were no computers or fluorescent lights like in the present. Therefore, the accountants and bookkeepers had to work and do manual accounting. Incandescent lights and candles were used for lighting purposes. These lights can cause eye strain and vision blurriness when used for hours.
As a result, the professionals doing a lot of paperwork in the intense light would get exhausted. That’s why visors were commonly used to protect their eyes from the strain and ensure an unobstructed view of the papers they would be working on. This solution made the tedious and hard job of CPAs and auditors a little bit relaxing.
Visors protected them from unnatural light, which was a reason behind eye strain, frequent headaches, restlessness, etc. As things got advanced, innovation in all sectors resulted in more human-friendly light sources, spectacles to avoid eye strain, and computers for data entry & calculation. Therefore, the need for visors by the accountants and auditors is automatically ruled out.
Why Do Accountants Stereotypically Wear Green Eyeshades?
Now to the question: why do accountants stereotypically wear green eyeshades? It would be more appropriate to ask why did accountants stereotypically wear green eyeshades?
Green eyeshades are the green visors that we were talking about. The purpose of wearing green eyeshades in the past was to protect from the adversities caused by the intense lights. In the old days, direct and intense light would be fixed just above the table of an accountant of the auditor.
An already tedious job of managing spreadsheets with millions of transactions would become hard due to the intensity of light.
It was common to see accountants wearing green eyeshades while working. The green eyeshades or visors would obstruct the direct light into the eyes. Therefore, the occupational health and safety experts came up with a solution for accountants who would hours and hours doing calculations, analyzing, and recording transactions.
Besides, the visors also help the wearer protect the paperwork from the sweat dripping into eyes in hot weather.
Everything About Visors
It’s a common concern for many people how visors help the wearer avoid the damage caused by light. It also raises questions about the material, design, and color of visors. Here is everything you need to know about the visors that were once widely used by different professionals as a part of their work attire.
Material
The visors are made of colored celluloid that is made of nitrocellulose and camphor. Different dyes are added to give it color. Besides making visors, celluloid’s common uses include photographic films, musical instruments, combs, guitar picks, and office equipment.
The phenomenon behind the effectiveness of visors in obstructing light was due to the green or blue color of celluloid. Therefore, most popularly, the accountants used green visors or eyeshades. In some cases, leather and paper were also used for the visor portion.
Color
The color of visors can range from green, grey, blue, etc. However, these colors are specifically used to cut down the overall brightness of the light without disturbing & distorting numbers, figures, and colors. Besides, the darker shades of the visors also reduce the eyestrain when surrounding conditions are bright.
Appearance
The visors look like a hat with head open. As a result, the visors are preferred to keep your head cooler with an open top.
Do Accountants Still Need to Wear Green Eyeshades?
We have discussed how accountants used to wear green eyeshades and what purpose they served.
But the real question to ask is: do accountants still need to wear green eyeshades?
The answer is that the accountants do not need to wear green eyeshades. There are many reasons for it.
Let’s list why visors are no longer relevant for accountants or any professional who has to do a lot of table work.
Fluorescent lights
Fluorescent lights have replaced intense incandescent lights. It automatically eliminates the need for visors. As a result, the accountants and professionals experience no or less eye strain when working for long hours.
Computers
Computers have replaced the paperwork. The accountants and auditors had to do every calculation and recording on paper in the past. Most of the work is done in excel sheets and accounting software that has simplified a lot of work. Besides, the advanced technology has resulted in more eye-friendly screens that have minimum adverse effects on the eyes.
Air Conditioners
Air conditioners have solved the problem of sweating in summers and hot weather. Therefore, the accountants do not need to carry the green eyeshades with them.
More Advanced Protective Equipment
Another reason why visors are outdated and irrelevant is that more advanced protective equipment has been introduced for the professionals with vision-intense work.
What Should Accountants Use In Current Times?
The accountants should use the anti-glare spectacles in the current days. The anti-glare glasses have special lenses having a thin coating on their surface. Due to the coating, light is reflected, and the wearer can see things clearly.
Benefits of Anti-Glare Spectacles
The most convincing benefits of the anti-glare spectacles are as follows:
- You get improved visual clarity and comfort as light is reflected off the lens, giving you an unobstructed view.
- You get an overall better appearance and sight.
- UV protection from the light of laptops and computers as well as outdoors comes with anti-glare glasses.
- Less blue light exposure and reduced eye strain.
Wrap Up
Now you know why the accountants stereotypically wear the green eyeshades or visors. However, it’s important to note that the practice has become obsolete among accountants.
Accountants and related professionals used to wear visors while working to reduce the eye strain caused by long working hours and focusing on the paper.
The incandescent lights used in the past were also one of the reasons why accountants would experience headaches and eyestrains while working. All of these problems were solved by the green eyeshades or visors.
