Fox Business has published yet another article about the top workplace distraction complaint among US office employees. It should come as no surprise that workplace noise from loud coworkers is the biggest pain in the ear. According to survey data accumulated by Ask.com from more than 2000 workers, 61% of employees say noisy workmates are harming their productivity. The trend toward offering employees the option to work at home apparently won’t fix this problem. It turns out, most people would rather be at their workspace in the office than at home when they are trying to concentrate. That’s not surprising since many people have lots of distractions at their house as well.

Employers may wish to consider what they can do to improve noise control in personal workstations on site. More than 85% of survey participants said they are most productive when they are at the office alone. It’s not possible to recreate the feeling of being completely isolated (unless you want to install soundproof cubes). But you can use cubicle wall extenders and desktop privacy panels to reduce distractions.