Above all else employees want a workplace free of distractions, according to a study by economic consultants at Oxford Economics. The study found that office acoustics were last on designers’ considerations when developing office spaces. With the increase of open plan designs, which have their benefits, office noise has reached endemic proportions. Let’s find out the impact that office noise could be having on your workforce.

What impact can a noisy office have?

Reduction in concentration

Tech Radar reported a 66% drop in work concentration and work momentum due to noise in the office.

An impact on collaboration

Some employees take it into their own hands to reduce the number of distractions impacting their work by listening to music or podcasts on their earphones. However, this reduces the amount of collaboration between colleagues.

Negative health effects

According to a UCLA Health Impact Assessment, excessive noise can have a negative effect on the cardiovascular system and long/short-term memory.

Workplace dissatisfaction

Workers who suffer from noise stress are more likely to complain about other aspects of their office environment.

Reduced work quality

A survey by The Remark Group titled ‘Noise and Wellbeing at Work’ found that 65% of respondents reported that noise in the workplace impacted on their ability to complete work in an accurate and timely manner.

High stress

Unwanted noise triggers a stress response in the body which in turn increases blood pressure and reduces quality of sleep.

What can be done?

Employees often try to work from home to escape the noise level in the office. However, this isn’t an ideal solution as collaboration will be reduced and there may be other types of distractions at home.

In large open-plan offices, which are the worst culprits for noise pollution, the sound rises and then bounces down from the ceiling. Ideally, sound-dampening measures should be installed in the office for a long-term solution.

Sound Masking works by emitting an unobtrusive background noise in the office, specifically designed to mask human speech. Conversations aren’t as easily understood at a distance and are less distracting.

Other interim solutions could include having enclosed office spaces such as meeting rooms or small offices available for work conversations. You could also provide break-out areas within the office for break times, but they need to be located out of earshot of working employees.

Soundproofed telephone booths have also been provided by some companies to reduce the noise from phone calls. However, this is most likely to work for outbound calls with employees who have laptops only. Depending on the nature of your business, this could reduce half the phone conversation noise.

Summary

Steps should be taken to reduce noise in the workplace as it makes it more difficult to concentrate, which in turn reduces productivity, as well as a host of other physical ill effects.

Now that you know the impact that office noise could be having on your workforce, what steps will be taking to reduce it?

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