Tag : workplace noise

Using white noise in the office is a commonly suggested remedy for covering up intrusive sounds at work. But that might be like prescribing a medicine with side effects as bad as the illness it’s designed to treat. Let’s explore a different perspective on whether white noise is really beneficial or if it just adds to the burden of excess noise in the workplace.

Why Is White Noise Recommended?

It’s very well established that noise in the workplace is a major source of stress. Unwanted noise is distracting and can be associated with low morale, poor health, and a number of other issues. Conversation is one of the most intrusive sounds, since the brain automatically tries to listen and understand what’s being said. But everything from whirring printers to ringing phones and clicking keyboards can be problematic.

So, white noise may be used to help mask the hustle and bustle. Some of these sound tracks imitate noises found in nature, such as whispering breezes, waves, or rushing water. Others use specifically selected wavelengths of sound in spectrums known to be soothing. The idea is that the added layer of noise will help filter out or dampen the effect of less appealing sounds.

Not Everyone Likes White Noise

Unfortunately, white noise in the office doesn’t always work as intended. Kery Floyd, writing for forcexinc.com, clearly states his dislike for this artificial sound. He finds that it actually makes concentration more difficult. Floyd points to a couple of studies that have shown mixed results for white noise. In one, individuals who typically had difficulty concentrating were helped by the noise. Those who were usually attentive suffered a decline in performance. White noise was something of an equalizer, but certainly not an overall performance booster for all participants.

A summary of research published over at sonicstate.com offers a grim view of white noise in the office. It uses the research of Mark Andrews, (a physiology professor) to make the case that white noise causes stress and can lead to many harmful stress-related conditions. However, a closer reading reveals that Andrews is discussing low level background noise—which would include typical workplace sounds that we already know are distracting. It’s not specifically about white noise machines. At the same time, the comments on the article show a strong aversion to the use of “sound conditioning”. Complaints include headaches and distraction.

What’s the Takeaway?

Remember that perception is everything. If you do decide to use white noise, check to see if it is actually helping your employees. When you have workers complaining about white noise, it’s not the right solution. When it’s working right, no one should notice that it’s there.

Last month, we took an in-depth look at how to assist introverts in the workplace. But these individuals aren’t the only ones who can have difficulty concentrating in a busy office. Employee with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) also struggle to be productive in today’s open office plans. Noises that some people block out can be very disruptive to workers who already have a tough time staying on task.

Examples of intrusive noises include:

• Coworkers talking
• Foot traffic through the office
• Elevator doors
• Fax machines, photocopiers, and printers
• Telephones ringing

Is ADHD Covered under the ADA?

Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. That really depends on the type and degree of limitation a person experiences in going about their daily lives. However, accommodating these workers makes sense regardless of the degree of disability. Like any employees, those with ADHD will simply do higher quality work and be more productive in the office if their needs are being met.

How Can Office Furniture and Design Help Workers with ADHD?

The Job Accommodation Network has a number of recommendations for reducing auditory and visual distractions. Locating the employee away from distractions is a good first step. Providing noise-canceling headsets or a white noise machine is also helpful. The space itself should be enclosed with cubicle walls, preferably with sound absorption panels. In an example provided by JAN, “A journalist with ADHD experienced sensitivity to visual and auditory distractions. The employer provided the individual with a private, high-wall cubicle workspace in a low-traffic area. The employer added an environmental sound machine to mask office noise.”

In an open office layout that has desks but not cubicles, installing a single cubicle might pose a real challenge. However, our desk mounted privacy panels can be installed on any standard office desk in less than 5 minutes using our universal brackets.

For workers with ADHD, choose privacy panels that feature:

• Good acoustic properties (designed to prevent sound from traveling into the employee’s workspace from surrounding areas)
• A textile covering in a soothing, neutral color
• A tall height, so that the worker cannot see visual distractions while in a seated position and so that others cannot easily look over the top to interrupt the employee’s work

The solution is simple and inexpensive—a win-win for you and your employees.

Coworking is a burgeoning trend among entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote workers who can’t commute to a corporate office on a regular basis. Today, we’re seeing more and more spaces being created to meet the demands for flexible, occasional office space. Facilities that offer coworking space do have a number of benefits:

• Helping people be more productive by offering a work-like atmosphere
• Facilitating networking and creative brainstorming across industries
• Granting access to infrastructure and technology that would be cost-prohibitive for small business owners or startups
• Keeping costs low with flexibility in short term or pay-as-you-go pricing

But not everyone is sold on the benefits of surrounding oneself with other people in a setting that’s meant to mimic a regular office. In fact, the best work often gets done in a solitary setting–without interruptions from office mates.

Noise Levels Range from Busy to Bothersome

Eli at Become Nomad bills himself as a fan of coworking (since he never stays in one place long). But even he takes issue with some of the less pleasant aspects of the faux office. “Coworking places can be noisy, and this is hard if you’re easily distracted. Noise is part and parcel of coworking places. People will make calls, talk to each other, move around and sometimes distract you, although most coworkers are quite aware and respectful in the working environment.”

Rebekah Campbell at “You’re the Boss” was less tolerant of the buzz during her startup’s experiment with coworking environments. She bemoaned lost productivity from poor focus. Even though there were designated quiet areas, most coworkers ignored the rules. There was certainly no safe haven from obnoxious behavior. “Some people appeared to show off their important phone conversations by speaking as loudly as possible. Even those who thought they were sharing an idea with their small teams managed to broadcast across the whole room.”

Some Coworking Spaces Seek to Provide More Privacy

As the problems that can arise with shared workspaces become more evident, some purveyors of coworking space are finding new ways to cope. For example, the Regus chain of business centers has installed “Thinkpods” that are like tiny round cubicles with space for a chair and a worksurface to hold a laptop. Kimberly Lilley, General Manager at a DFW area Regus, says people can choose to pop into a pod to focus on preparing a presentation. Others might choose to spend most of a workday in these cocoons of quiet.

In contrast, the formal coworking spaces at a Regus feature little privacy, with desks positioned in an open layout with no desktop divider screens. However, in this instance shared space doesn’t mean shared schedules. According to Kimberly, the sales people who lease her site’s coworking offices don’t rub elbows that often. “It’s not really an issue. They aren’t all in the office at the same time.” Sometimes, the answer to the noise question really is about timing. The flexibility of the coworking culture allows workers to come and go as their need for privacy changes.

No matter how noisy the rest of the workplace gets, introverts can feel comfortable when they have a place to retreat and focus. In this final blog post on Steelcase’s Quiet Spaces, we’ll tour a few more of the options and ideas for putting together an oasis of calm. As always, these examples are shown with clear glass so you can see the interior. The real deal features more opacity to provide visual privacy.

Studio

Being quiet doesn’t always mean sitting in silence. Sometimes, it’s best to stretch or even pace around during bouts of creative thinking or problem solving. That’s why the furnishings in this mini-studio space are sparse. Most of the room is left open so employees can spread out. Yoga mats for exercise are optional (and should be sterilized regularly). The Hosu convertible lounge chair can be used as a recliner or a futon for a quick power nap.

Green Room

The green room in a theater is a place for actors to relax when they aren’t performing. In a similar way, this quiet space serves introverts by getting them “off the stage” for a while so they can just be themselves. This informal destination is designed for socialization that doesn’t feel too overwhelming.

The 90 degree sofa allows coworkers to sit near one another without feeling crowded or being pressured to maintain constant eye contact. The space is designed to facilitate work as well as sharing of digital content. It’s the right spot for alone time or occasional small group activities.

Mind Share

According to the research collected by Steelcase, most collaboration happens in pairs rather than teams. It’s not really necessary to have an entire conference room set aside for these synergistic meetings. The Mind Share space provides room for one-on-one discussions that can be as deep and focused as necessary. It’s bouncing ideas off a trusted partner that can lead to some of the best results. This is also a good place for introverts to brainstorm so they don’t disturb everyone else when they get excited.

The technology integrated into this quiet space includes media:scape to promote active creation and editing of digital content. A whiteboard provides a great surface for visualization—just make sure the ventilation is good enough to deal with the dry erase marker fumes!

That’s it for our coverage of Quiet Spaces. If you do end up incorporating one of these solutions into your office design, let us know how it works out. We’re all ears…

The long-awaited day has arrived, and Steelcase Quiet Spaces have been unveiled. This collection of office architectural components was conceived in collaboration with Susan Cain, noted introvert, TED talker, and bestselling author of “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking”. She stands as a calm, firm voice representing employees everywhere who would rather be left alone to do their work. That’s not a small minority. More than 1/3 of workers fall into the introvert category—and their needs aren’t being met in the overly open, hyper-social workspaces of today.

When Susan was talking, Steelcase was listening.

Now, the office furniture giant has made great strides toward creating a more inclusive yet less overwhelming work environment for their shy employees. Quiet Spaces are designed to fill this need even in today’s high-density offices. These spaces meet four basic needs of introverted personalities at work.

Pursuing Excellence

Introverts are consistently the source of some of the best ideas in business—but only when their need to be alone is respected. Employers who provide quiet spaces show that they value what introverted employees bring to the table.

Dialing It Down

Overstimulation is one of the curses of a modern office. Introverts need to have more control over sound levels and lighting to promote comfort and improve their ability to focus.

Enjoying the Setting

Some stimulation is actually desirable for introverts. Organic materials and wood veneers with warm tones and attractive textures help create a safe haven.

Avoiding Prying Eyes

For an introvert, a normal day at the office can trigger stage fright. They feel like everyone is looking at them. Having visual privacy, even for short periods of time, provides a chance to relax. (The glass walls in the photo are used to show the interior of the space, the real walls are more opaque.)

The Concept Starts with Architecture and Technology

These small work rooms are built with V.I.A. (Vertical Intelligent Architecture) for real sound privacy. All frames, skins, and junctions are manufactured with full acoustical seals to keep outside noise out—and inside noise in. The intelligent walls can be equipped with built-in monitors to amplify digital content. Lighting is also part of the package, giving users control over the brightness of their refuge.

What about scheduling? The RoomWizard II gives introverts the option to reserve a Steelcase Quiet Space at a moment’s notice or well in advance. That’s handy for workers who know they need to recharge at a specific time each day, such as after a busy, noisy meeting.

Stay tuned next week for more details about Quiet Spaces…

What does your office really sound like? If you had to recreate the ambience of your workplace, how realistic would it seem? Sound engineer Iwan Gabovitch has put together a pretty convincing 2 hour segment of office noises on “SoundLikeTube”. It’s a lengthy, looping clip that is designed for use in video or audio productions. Other suggested uses are:

• Playing it in the background when you need to pretend you’re at work
• Adding it to the ambient noise of your real office to make your business seem bigger
• Using it to feel less lonely at a work from home job

In fact, most of us tune out the noise in the office after a while (although it still creates stress at a subconscious level). Here are just a few of the sounds you might hear if you really start listening:

1. People talking (blah, blah, chatter, laugh, blah, blah)
2. Office printers running (whir, chug, chug—paper jam!)
3. Papers being shuffled (rustle, rustle, rustle)
4. Cell phones vibrating (that buzzing sound of a phone sitting on a desk is still audible with the ringer turned off)
5. Staplers (Whack! Breathless pause…whack!)
6. Keyboard and mouse (the click, tap, tap, tap, click never stops)
7. Music playing from the guy wearing headphones with the volume cranked up (either something you wish you could hear or something you’d like to block out.
8. Chip or snack containers—arguably one of the most annoying sounds in any office (crinkle, crinkle)
9. Air conditioning or heating (whoosh, whoosh, hum just at the edge of your hearing range)
10. File cabinet drawers opening and closing (scrape, thunk, scrape, thunk, someone please get the WD40!)

It’s a wonder anyone can work in an office with all that racket. If you’re ready to start cutting down on the distractions, OBEX can help. We can add height and additional sound reduction to your existing cubicle walls to limit office noise intrusion. For workstations without panels, consider our desktop mounted acoustic panels. Employees can choose to turn their desk into a cube and finally get enough peace and quiet to really concentrate. Click through to see our full range of cubicle panel extenders.

This year, a fresh crop of vendors is rising to address the challenge of office noise control in the modern workpsace. While providing separation between employees at the workstation level is important, there are many other areas of the office that can also be acoustically upgraded for better sound absorption. Here are a few of the newest items available for helping businesses keep the noise down.

See Through Doesn’t Mean “Hear Through”

Glass is a lovely architectural component, but it poses special challenges for acoustic control. If the glass is too thin, sound can pass right through, and there’s no confidentiality. If it’s too dense, sound bounces right back into the workspace and reverberates. Unika Vaev is addressing this issue with “Glass Cover”—a 100% wool felt product that can be installed in attractive shapes and patterns to add visual interest and sound absorption to expansive glass walls.

Let the Sky Fold

SKYFOLD sounds like the name of a James Bond thriller, and the special effects are certainly something to see. This vertically foldable operative wall system accordions down from the ceiling, providing an instant reduction in noise on both sides of the panel. The STC rating is as high as 60, guaranteeing that meetings stay “top secret”. The system is electric rather than manual, for a very hush, hush operation. These motorized panels are available in a wide range of sizes and have even been installed at Texas A&M to divide up lecture rooms to host multiple simultaneous presentations.

Modern, Mobile, Modi

The Modi screen is a new take on the mobile acoustic privacy screen. It features a wood core with acoustic panels of wool felt (that seems to be the textile of the year), and can be provided in a number of different colors. The wheel can be outfitted in a contrasting hue for added whimsy. There’s a handy handle on the side so the screen is easy to tote from one workstation to another. This might even make a nice temporary door for a cubicle.

What new tools will you use to bring acoustic balance to your offices this year? Let us know in the comments.

Are you going to NeoCon 2014 in Chicago? Registration is still open, and you won’t want to miss the seminars if you’re in town. Here are a few presentations that could make a big difference for employee engagement, satisfaction, productivity, and retention.

Getting Space Right

On Monday, June 9^th, Dean Strombon and Sven Govaars from Gensler offer a talk on ‘Happiness by Design: a Capital Idea’. They’ll cover how to measure employee happiness and how to apply these insights to workplace design to improve employee wellbeing. Don’t worry; build happy!

One of the reasons so many employees feel stressed is no doubt the shrinking of the work environment. Today, many companies expect the workforce to thrive in less than 100 square feet per person. Kimberly Marks, president of the Marks Design Group, offers her perspective on how to deal with the design limitations inherent in working with small spaces. The seminar is ‘Occupant Load Explosion’ and it’s also on Monday.

Turning Down the Volume

Acoustics is a topic that’s covered on Monday and Wednesday. SHP Leading Design architect Allison McKenzie discusses ‘Acoustics: The Sound of Sustainable Design.’ She’ll teach you about the difference between Sound Transmission Class (STC) and Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC). Allison will also talk in detail about how acoustics meshes with LEED prerequisites and credits.

Why do 60% of employees say noise makes it difficult for them to perform their work? On Wednesday, Devorie Brown from Commercial Studio of Interior Design discusses the reported statistics about noise in the workplace. She will help participants learn to identify noise sources and create strategies to reduce distractions and create an optimal acoustic environment. Of course, you don’t have to go to NeoCon to get started with a noise reduction plan—we can help you at any time.

If you do attend NeoCon 2014, be sure to share your comments about your favorite seminars here.

Susan Cain, a self-professed introvert, is not exactly the person you’d expect to see giving a TED talk. But her book “QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” brought Cain into the public eye in unexpected ways. She gave a voice to everyone who has ever wished for more peace and quiet at work. While collaboration and socialization at the office can be wonderful, at least 30% of the population wishes for a workplace where these activities weren’t given so much importance.

Introverts Are Stymied in Their Efforts to Be Effective

Many of the greatest ideas arise and most workplace productivity occurs when people are given space and time to really concentrate. For introverts, being required to perform “on demand” in a group setting can lead to anxiety over excessive scrutiny or criticism. But given a few hours alone, they can come up with amazing solutions or work at lightning speed to get critical tasks done on time. It’s not that they hate their coworkers. Introverts simply want to be able to choose their interactions with care to avoid depleting themselves. When they are part of a culture that overemphasizes what Susan calls “The New Groupthink”, their work suffers.

What Type of Workspace Do Introverts Crave?

A private office at work would probably be a dream come true—and working remotely from a quiet location like a home office is another favorite option. The worst possible workspace is an open office plan with no walls and no privacy. That’s not surprising since even extroverts can feel overwhelmed and stressed when there is constant noise. Introverts would usually prefer to have a cubicle rather than the type of open desk with low or no dividers that is prevalent in today’s office environments.

Introverts Need Oases

Cain recognizes that the economics of the open office design make it too tempting for most companies to forego. But she believes there is a way to find some middle ground. Jim Hackett, recent Steelcase CEO and fellow introvert, agrees that it’s time to make a change. Cain is now collaborating with this leading office furniture company on solutions. “We’ve formed a partnership with Steelcase to create quiet oases of focus and respite for open plan offices, so that workers can move freely between social and private spaces.” Design ideas are due to be released sometime in 2014.

In just one short month, it will be May (already?) Springtime has inspired countless songs, but not everyone has the chance to hear these lovely melodies. A full 12% of the US population suffers from hearing loss and can’t fully enjoy the wonderful world of sound. That’s 38 million people! While hearing loss can often begin at birth or occur later due to illness or aging, more than 25 million people in the US have noise-induced hearing loss. Because this problem is so widespread, May is designated as “Better Hearing Month”.

As a reminder that employers and employees should pay more attention to noise hazards, Miracle-Ear Foundation and 3M have put together a hearing loss prevention campaign. They call it “One Day without Sound”. On May 1^st, 2014, they are asking people everywhere to remove sound from their lives (as much as possible) for one full day.

Can You NOT Hear Me Now?

The soundless day provides an opportunity to educate communities and employers about the impact of loud noise. Participants can register at onedaywithoutsound.org to receive more information and prevention tips along with a pair of ear plugs that greatly reduce perceived noise levels. Slip these in your ears, and you’ll get a small taste of what it’s like to have noise-induced hearing loss. That certainly won’t make it possible to fully understand the frustrations of actual hearing impairment, but it may raise awareness about how much we take our good hearing for granted.

Keeping It Down at Work

More than 30 million Americans are exposed to potentially harmful sounds at work. That’s one very good reason to make sure your workplace has an up-to-date noise abatement plan. However, it’s not just the dangerous levels of noise that can be a problem. Many employees report high stress levels and difficulty concentrating from prolonged exposure to phones ringing, coworkers talking too loudly, or just the general hustle and bustle of the office. Our desktop panels and cubicle wall extenders help limit these chronic annoyances so employees can enjoy their workday more. Think of our OBEX panels as ear plugs for your employees’ workstations!