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Unfortunately these materials can often come with hefty price tags, but can be worth the investment for offices with major sound problems and employees who care about design. Walls can even be decorated with pieces that double as both high-quality soundproofing materials and unique pieces of art. Those with the budgets to get more creative can consider drop ceilings that soak up sound and incorporate shapes, colors, and designs. Cubicle partitions and standard white acoustical ceiling titles are the most common ways to block and absorb sound, but they typically don’t evoke beautiful, modern design. Hard surfaces do a poor job at absorbing sound, so bringing in softer materials such as carpets can help minimize noise.
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For the organization that has a severe noise problem (think call centers or co-working spaces that are becoming very popular among entrepreneurs and startups), there are a few surprising and stylish fixes that can be installed to reduce sound.Īlthough trendy, open offices in renovated warehouses can be a nightmare when it comes to sound traveling across the space. Bring in sound absorbing materials without sacrificing design.
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By adding a continuous, low-level ambient sound to an environment (such as white noise, which sounds similar to the sound of airflow), sound masking can help make conversations for listeners that aren’t intended to hear them unintelligible, and therefore much easier to ignore.Ĥ. However, words that are incomprehensible are less likely to be distracting. Research suggests that noise itself isn’t distracting, but unwanted speech noise is. It seems counter-intuitive, but adding more sound to an environment can actually make it seem quieter. Mask the sound by increasing background noise. There’s even an acoustic telephone booth that could be added to an office to be used for private phone calls.ģ. Providing small enclaves containing telephones can encourage employees to make phone calls without disturbing their cubemates.
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Lunch areas, game rooms or even phone rooms can help communicate to employees that when working at their desks, those are the times to be quieter, but should you want to partake in a heated debate, feel free to go chat in the game room. In contrast, businesses can also designate areas around the office that encourage interaction and discussion. These spaces are designated for non-group work and can help provide a place for workers to be more productive than at a shared desk or in a cubeless office.Ģ. Similar to a quiet car on a train, businesses can use an empty office or unused conference room and turn it into a “Quiet Room” that employees can go to when trying to focus on an important task or project. We have found that there are several things businesses can do to reduce unwanted noise:ġ. Is it possible to have a gorgeous, open office and maintain peace and quiet, too? Almost any office worker could share a story or two about annoying, loud, or obnoxious distractions – whether it be a coworker, a loud printer, a noisy heating and air conditioning system, or the ring of a cell phone. A 2013 study from the University of Sydney found that a lack of sound privacy was far and away the biggest drain on employee morale:įurther, a 2014 study by Steelcase and Ipsos found that workers lost as much as 86 minutes per day due to noise distractions. All those open floor plans and glass walls help both light and views filter through to the entire office, and there’s often a bottom-line benefit as well: open floor plans are often less expensive (on an employee-per-square-foot basis) than assigned cubes and individual, private offices.īut an open office has downsides. Studies of people with and without views of nature – as opposed to either no views, or views of built environments – have found that a view of nature makes workers less frustrated, more patient, more productive, and physically healthier. Natural light matters: research by Mirjam Muench has found that those work under artificial light become sleepier earlier than those who work in natural light. These open offices do offer important benefits. These workspaces certainly look unique and make a strong statement about company culture, especially to prospective employees walking through the door for an interview. Today’s brand-new workplaces may contain officeless offices, cubeless cubelands, and collaborative spaces only surrounded by glass walls. A beautifully designed office can be a useful factor in recruiting and retaining talent.