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Tips for a Quieter Workplace by Pam Brenner, 360 e-zine, (Vol. 1, Issue 4)

Recent research by the Center for the Built Environment (CEB) reports that more 40 percent of respondents indicate that workplace acoustics makes it harder for them to do their jobs. The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) supports this finding, reporting that more than 70 percent of workers believe noise is their most significant workplace distraction.

So what can be done? How can noise be reduced in the workplace - especially when considering most people usually work in open planned spaces?

Here are some tips to consider:

Pathways Privacy Walls
  • Channel foot traffic and subsequent noise away from areas where people need to concentrate.
  • Encourage people to turn down the ringer on their phones. When they are not at their desk, have them send calls to the voice mail system on the first ring.
  • Ask people to position themselves so they speak into sound absorbing panels when on a desk phone as opposed to talking freely into the surrounding environment.
  • Discuss the personal use of speakerphones; cell phones, radios and other items that create noise.
  • Consider inconsistent ceiling levels and hard surfaces like large windows that will reflect and deflect sound into other areas of the worksetting.
  • Build in private spaces for people to retreat to when acoustical privacy is needed.
  • Evaluate the use of a sound masking white noise system to help "muffle" noise in the workplace.
  • Encourage people to stop, look, and listen before interrupting someone who is working