Privacy - Is It Worth It?
Disruptive and disconcerting noise in the workplace definitely hampers employee creativity. Lots of offices have had to work at finding ways to give their staffs what could be termed "acoustic privacy". And as more office space is constructed without individual rooms or even full cubicles, noise level professionals are beginning to recognize the serious distractions caused by chattering co-workers.
A worker's privacy, and therefore comfort level, decreases as the noise around him increases. Overheard conversation between colleagues can be most distracting. Worker's put more energy into drowning out distractions than they put into the job they are attempting to do.
While the volume has gone up, walls have been eliminated. There are more open-plan workplaces under construction, and more employees are expected to fill the same amount of available space. Obviously, what is lost in the process is any semblance of privacy. All of this has of course been done in the name of cost-cutting. Why not save money by doing away with partitions and cramming your workers together like so many sardines in a can?
However, the problem has been exacerbated by builders, clients, and interior designers who like the elegant but spare look. Some popular surfaces, like marble, glass and brick, are fashionable but have the unfortunate tendency to bounce sound off rather than absorb it. In many corporate complexes, acoustics are given short shrift in favor of aesthetic considerations.
Servers as well as other workplace apparatus can be set up with acoustic hoods but the primary concern is over disruption caused by conversation. Some noise is predictable and efforts to absorb block and cover noise are the best course of action at the office. Of these three, covering works best.
Covering - known as "Sound Masking" or "White Noise" provides the biggest privacy boost and costs the least. While you'll probably need to add sound-absorbent wall or ceiling panels, or raise your cubicle walls, sound masking is the logical place to start, and often provides enough privacy on its own to do the job.
Many workers have a difficult time being creative at their jobs because of unrelated and distracting noises. It is hard for companies to ensure their workers acoustic privacy. With more open-plan office now than ever before experts are finding that conversational distractions can also cause work place problems as well. Another important aspect of this issue today in the workplace is the HIPAA legislation. Covering - known as "Sound Masking" or "White Noise" provides the biggest boost and costs the least. While you'll probably need to add sound-absorbent wall or ceiling panels, or raise your cubicle walls, sound masking is the logical place to start.
Published May 28th, 2008
Filed in Business
