Office Noise Takes A Toll On Employers And Employees
Anybody who has ever worked in a busy office understands the extent to which office noise and conversational distractions waste time, decrease productivity, increase stress levels, and increase the incidence of avoidable errors. Recent research validates the common experience of office workers everywhere, and provides employers ample justification for investing in systems designed to decrease office noise.
Published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, a study by Cornell University researchers discovered that even small quantities of office noise led to higher levels of stress, a decline in motivation, and diminished productivity. An increased stress level, as verified by increased amounts of adrenaline in the bloodstream, is thought to contribute to heart disease and other serious health problems. Not only is there lost productivity, but employers may also be required to cover these related health care expenses.
The American Society of Interior Designers did a study which demonstrated that the employee work went down and the noise levels went up in the surrounding areas. This study also proved to have a lot of noise in the new open-office areas where wall offices have been replaced by thin partitions, also the use of electronic devices add to the unpleasant noises.
Mixed office environments pose special challenges for a modern office employee. For instance, a salesperson making calls from a cubicle nearby may prevent a technical writer, who needs a lot of focus and concentration, from generating his/her best work in the time allotted for it.
There are ways to correcting the serious problem of loud office noise. Employees who become preoccupied end up using things such as ear muffs, ear plugs or sometimes use desktop white noise machines. But, by using these things to lessen the sounds, this has caused workers to slow down in work. There are headphones which do not cause important sounds to be blocked, however, it does have active noise canceling.
The wise business decision to help with loud offices noise begins with the correct office design, proper sound insulation, or a well working installment of a sound masking system. The cost for systems have dropped quite a bit over the past years. With the information and the cost being low, a smart employer has no reason to ignore the problem of loud workplace noise.
Anybody who has ever worked in a busy office understands the extent to which office noise and conversational distractions waste time, decrease productivity, increase stress levels, and increase the incidence of avoidable errors. There are many solutions available to the serious problem of excessive noise. Distracted employees often turn to wearable methods of muffling sound, such as ear plugs or ear muffs, or desktop white noise machines. Headphones with active noise canceling technology can decrease distracting noises without muffling important sounds. However, the intelligent business solution to a noisy office starts with proper office design, adequate sound insulation, or the installation of an effective office sound masking system.
Published October 23rd, 2008
