| Why is noise a problem?
Most modern office space is designed to be open plan – but since open plan offices became popular, there have been changes
in working practices, communications and technology that make the traditional open plan model less ideal.
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People now have less space to work in. A typical workstation in the seventies was 12 square feet. Today’s
workstations are between six feet and eight square feet. |
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There’s more of an emphasis on teamwork, which means that people often work in informal groups with other workers, while colleagues nearby are trying to concentrate. |
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Conversation ‘leaking’ from mobiles and voice mail has increased dramatically. |
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Phones, PDAs, pagers and electronic ring tones have become common workplace interruptions. |
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Wi-Fi and wireless technology means that employees aren’t chained to their desk or PC – they can move around the office. |
Noisy offices aren’t just a minor irritation though. Studies
have shown that the noise factor in most workspaces affects
employee stress levels and productivity, inevitably leading to
absenteeism and high staff turnover. So, it pays to reduce
the noise levels before they start to cause problems.
One case study involving a US call centre showed that when
employers made the acoustic corrections to their office, there
was a 300% increase in worker satisfaction with the noise
level reduction, and a 140% increase in satisfaction with the
overall work environment. After six months, productivity had
increased by an average of 19.8% per worker.*
Creating an acoustic shadow
One way to control the amount of noise that affects virtually
every open plan office is to use screens to create an acoustic
shadow. An acoustic shadow is what happens when noise
that would normally be heard is blocked, because the sound
is either absorbed or somehow deflected.
Arranging screens effectively can protect workers from
distracting noises and conversation, in addition to enhancing
privacy. Unfortunately, to make standard screens effective,
they need to be as close as possible to the source of noise –
and as tall and wide as is practical. To avoid the need for
intrusive office furniture, smaller acoustic screens provide the
perfect solution.
Our screens are engineered to not only block sound, but to
absorb it, because we know this helps to reduce the amount
of noise in the workplace. We do this by installing integral
Lamaphon Acoustic Core into every one of our screens.
Acoustic panels for walls and storage
To reduce workplace noise levels, it also helps to introduce
more soft, absorbent surfaces. Our wall mounted acoustic
panels don’t just come in a range of contemporary designs –
we can also print your own images onto an open weave
fabric to make your own bespoke wall art with a purpose.
You can also reduce noise echo from metal and wooden
storage furniture with noise absorbing acoustic panels and
brighten up the office at the same time.
Where to start
We usually suggest that you trial the screens in one area of
the office to make sure that you’re happy with the overall
effect – and when you realise how effective the screens are,
which we know you will, you can get back in touch with us
and roll out the new system to the rest of the office.
* “ATCO International Co: A Case study of office speech noise
distraction and worker productivity”
ATCO International Co and DynaSound Inc. 1997.
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