Open Plan Offices
An open plan office can be a nightmare, especially when you are required to concentrate. Background noise, cell phones, and conversations by colleagues may all contribute to making the task at hand difficult, however open plan offices will always be a consideration – more people per square meter.
Noise in Open Plan Offices?
Noise in the working environment is usually considered in the context of heavy industry or construction where noise can exceed 80dB however, it has also been shown that lower levels of noise generally encountered in Open Plan Offices (between 45dB and 60dB) also has a direct impact on ones health and can lead to hypertension, heart disease, annoyance, sleep disturbance, and tinnitus. Further reading …. Sound and Fury in the Open Plan Office
Does a noisy environment impact on productivity?
In a survey ‘Noise and Wellbeing at Work’ undertaken by The Remark Group it was noted that out of 1000 office based workers, 65% reported that noise in the workplace impacted on their daily ability to complete work in an accurate and timely manner. Nearly half (44%) said that noise had a negative impact on their overall well-being, with over 40% reporting that noise at work caused them to feel stressed.
Roughly half of the working population work in open plan office environments, a system initially designed to encourage communication and collaboration between employees. Yet, this design comes with increased annoyance levels, loss of productivity, increased distraction, increased stress levels etc. Noise events such as laughter, ringtones, conversations and any other office noise events considered distracting cannot be avoided.
Research suggests that every time we are interrupted, it takes 15 minutes to get back into a state of focus. Consider this over an 8 hour period and the considerable loss of productivity. A loss of productivity directly correlates to a loss of profits.
External Noise that could contribute to a noisy office?
Elevated noise can be generated from many sources, roadway noise from motor vehicles and heavy vehicles, flight paths or railway lines, poor urban planning, poor design of air conditioning or generator noise, etc.
How to control noise in an Open Plan Office?
- Reduce External noise where possible.
- Noise Cancelling Headphones.
- Create Collaboration spaces.
- Create quite spaces.
- Address the office layouts.
- Install white noise system.
How to Control Noise and Improve Speech Privacy with Acoustic Treatment in Open Plan Offices?
There are 3 basic elements in any noise control system.
- 1. Control noise at the source.
- 2. Control the path thru which the sound travels.
- 3. Control the sound/noise at the receiver position.
In most situations, there are multiple sources of noise and various paths. However, the objective of most noise control programs is to reduce noise at the receiver position or positions. This can be achieved by modifying the source, its path, or the receiver.
The path for the sound could be the air between the source and receiver or thru a building element such as a wall, under a door or flanking between two rooms. Solid elements such as pipes connecting two walls can also serve as the path for noise propagation.
What is important is to identify all possible sources when considering a solution for a noise problem.
In most instances the receiver is usually a human ear, but in some instances it might be a microphone or a sensitive piece of equipment. A recording studio, an auditory booth, a listening room and a laboratory are some examples. Noise can be controlled with effective layout and effective acoustic design.
Highly absorptive desk screens and acoustic panels can substantially reduce noise levels in office spaces.
0.5 Seconds Reverberation
2. 0 Seconds Reverberation