How Office Acoustics Affect Productivity
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What Makes Office Acoustics 'Bad'?
Modern day offices often feature sleek and simple open plan designs. Whilst they look stunning and have many advantages, this style is often detrimental to an office’s acoustics. An excess of hard surfaces such as concrete walls and wooden desks offer no acoustic benefit; only causing reverberation and poor sound quality. The addition of an open plan office layout where sound can travel easily only makes acoustics worse.
Even without an open plan design, offices can struggle massively with acoustics. A lack of soft furnishings, plenty of hard surfaces and an abundance of small background noises creates a chamber of unwanted noise.
How Bad Office Acoustics Affects Workers
Poor Concentration
Noise is one of the biggest distractions that office workers face day-to-day. Phone calls, chatty colleagues, kettles boiling, fans whirring… the list goes on. All these noises may seem small and harmless but once they start building up, it can become unpleasantly loud. With these high noise levels, it’s likely people will struggle to focus on their tasks, finish their work, and meet deadlines.
"Bad office acoustics causing poor concentration"
Communication Problems
Bad office acoustics can lead to issues with speech clarity, audibility, and communication. A high reverberation time (caused by a poor acoustic environment) can create an echo, making conversations harder to hold. This isn’t ideal in collaborative work environments where discussions are essential to the work.
Irritability & Increased Stress
Trying to focus when people are talking, typing, or eating in the background can be incredibly irritating and cause friction between co-workers. The inability to focus can also cause an increase in stress as employees struggle to meet tight deadlines and achieve their targets.
What do I do About Bad Office Acoustics?
There are plenty of ways you can improve office acoustics, from private meeting pods to decorative wall panels. The acoustic solutions you need can depend on the layout and style of your office - luckily, we have plenty of options in our selection of acoustic solutions designed for offices.
"Acoustically treated office"
If you’re looking to improve your office acoustics, finding the right acoustic products to suit your space both aesthetically and acoustically is your next step. If you want a helping hand from experts in office acoustics, feel free to contact a member of our team.