18th November 2019
Shut up. Please.
Is this typical of your office? A handful of people are talking about the latest movie, noisily discussing this actress and that actor. The phone is ringing with new and existing customers and colleagues chasing you down. The radio blurts out the latest tunes in the background, and the printers whirr amid the hum of the air conditioning.
Noise pollution in the office is getting worse.
A recent study suggested 65% of workers felt it ruined their productivity.
Your colleague sits next to you blissfully unaware of, well, practically everything as their noise-canceling headphones shut out the world. But this too isn’t good for productivity as the little cocoon of silence means they are effectively shutting down all communications amongst their team.
Shut Up! – The Top Office Distractions
The 2019 Noise and Wellbeing at Work survey of 1000 office-based workers suggested the following are most irritating:
Telephone conversations
Personal conversations
Laughter
Slamming doors
Eating noises
Coughing, sneezing, sniffing
Music
What’s the cure?
Homeworking can be a good solution for a very noisy office, but you need to ensure your team are set up correctly. Using cloud-based HR software allows your HR team to keep track and stay in touch with homeworkers. That’s essential to ensure productivity remains high.
Reworking your office could help, providing quiet areas, breakout rooms and lounge seating so you can find a quiet spot. Soundproof office cubes may just give your employees the break they need to reset. Reworking the office could also encourage some of your homeworkers to hot desk as well to create engagement with others, so you get the balance right for your homeworking team.
Some Basic hygiene factors
It goes back to basics as well. Wooden floors may seem practical, but they’ll create a massive amount of noise pollution. Vinyl Flooring is a versatile alternative.
Lose the radio and provide background white noise. The sound of rainfall or crashing waves might seem a bit pretentious but it will help mask unwanted sounds.
Plants are greater super soakers of noise. And they look good as well!
Go low level with some partitions. Partitions allow you to reduce sound without closing you off from your team members.
Want to get your office working correctly?
IRIS FMP Amity is a fully integrated browser-based HR and payroll solution suitable for companies of any size. Mobile responsive screens allow HR and employees to work anywhere on any device making it possible for HR to access real-time business intelligence to improve performance and productivity, and staff to have the self-service capability they crave. Read our brochure to find out more about this cost-effective, user-friendly software. People management has never been simpler.
