Wearing headphones can be uncomfortable, but it’s a popular ‘office go-to’ when you want a quiet moment on public transit, at the gym, or even reduce excess office noise. The ‘new normal’ for office layout and design is open space and smaller or even shared workspaces. With this new layout, it may be harder for employees to concentrate as public conversations from colleagues can be distracting – workers are distracted by colleagues and visitors alike and this often leads to long periods of preoccupied time that can be put to better use.
The Cost of Excess Office Noise
A study completed at UC Irvine concluded that office workers are interrupted once every 11 minutes and returning to the task at hand can take upwards of 23 minutes. Think about all the wasted time, over an entire year, with all your employees – it’s thousands of dollars lost.
Coping with Excess Office Noise, Or Not
Many employees have learned to cope with distractions throughout the day by utilizing sound-canceling headphones or listening to music via headphones. Although this helps to reduce office distractions, it also causes them. Think about when you’re listening to music, your favorite song comes on, and you start to hum along or sing, effectively altering your attention from what you were doing. I assure you, there is a better way for your employees to stay focused. It’s sound masking.
Reduce Excess Office Noise with Sound Masking
What is sound masking? Sound masking is the introduction of unformulated sound waves, through a targeted area, in order to render formulated human speech unintelligible. This will inherently reduce excess office noise and provide confidentiality where necessary. Sound masking prevents sound from traveling as far. Thus, causing fewer distractions to surrounding workers. We basically introduce sound to cover-up conversations. Although this might sound counter-productive, the science behind it is ‘sound.’ Can’t we just play the radio on low? The simple answer is no, it is not the same and doesn’t do much to mask the conversations, and actually creates distractions.
The Art & Science of Sound Masking
The installation of sound masking equipment is art that needs to complement the layout of your space – every office, hotel, spa, hospital, etc. will have a different arrangement with different needs. The technology is installed in the areas where the sound is traveling to, or the quiet areas. Think about your Dr.’s office; the waiting room has a soft hum, or low instrumental music playing in the background, making whatever is being discussed in the office inaudible to you.
Additional Ways to Reduce Excess Office Noise
If you’re not quite ready for sound masking, there are some great techniques to help reduce excess office noise immediately. If you have a sound masking system, these methods will only enhance the effectiveness of your system.
Hand Signals
Employees can implement the use of signals to discreetly let others know you need a quiet moment to complete your tasks. Arrange a staff meeting where everyone can come up with a signal to indicate “quiet time.” It can be as simple as raising your hand for others to see, turning nameplates around, or wearing a wristband of a particular color. If everyone is aware of the ques and respects them, individuals will be able to stay focused, longer.
Office Arrangement / Planning
One of the easiest ways to reduce excess office noise is to arrange your office in a way that doesn’t have your curiosity getting the best of you – when your desk is facing the door, you’re inviting conversations as people walk by. Also, you’re more likely to engage with others if you’re able to hear and see what’s going on. Arrange your office or cubicle, so your back is to the door. This will help limit ‘drop-ins’ and help you stay focused more.
The Quiet Place
Have a place of solitude in your office layout. Although humans are naturally curious and social, when tasks need to be completed in a timely fashion, a quiet place is a necessity. Providing a low volume working zone for employees is a great way to help those that are too nosey to help themselves!
The Bottom Line
Managers and designers must have their employees’ needs in mind when designing office spaces. Not only do they have to be smart and visually pleasing, but they need to be functional. From sound masking to smart office setup, there are many ways to create a distraction-free work zone without having to resort to headphones. In turn, saving you money. That’s music to the ears of any CEO.
