Recommended products from Pulsar Instruments™
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- Digital Noise Meter for Noise Level TestingFrom $441,00 (Ex. VAT/GST)
Office Noise and Call Centre Noise can hinder productivity at work.
As the growth in open-plan offices continues noise control solutions need to be found to address what many employees still consider as the number one deterrent to their workplace productivity: noise pollution.
High noise levels in an open-plan office or call centre environment can disturb an individuals’ concentration and make quiet conversation difficult as sound levels increase during a typical day. The noisier an office gets, the louder people must talk to be heard by others (like a negative feedback loop for noise), and people talking to each other over another worker remains the top type of noise that annoys office workers around the world.
Key office noise problems include:
- Decreased productivity in noisy places from lack of concentration.
- Reported difficulties in hearing what is said by people at the other end of phone calls, or by transferring noise to from the office to them so they can’t hear you.
- Increased stress levels, lower work satisfaction and impacts on employee health and well-being.
- Reduced staff loyalty and increased resignations.
Recent studies conducted by Oxford Economics have found that office noise is worsening and employees working in these noisy environments are more likely to leave their employment within 6 months compared with those in quieter offices. Studies show a direct correlation between a company’s revenue growth and how those same companies approach their work environments.
“96% of executives see employee productivity as critical to their financial performance, yet just 40% understand the link between noise, distraction and productivity.”
Top-performing firms report that noise control measures are important to financial performance and are pro-actively addressing the noise in their offices.
Office noise control solutions
- Use suitable sound control products such as the Pulsar SafeEar noise-activated warning sign to designate quiet zones and to warn employees when noise levels are too high and must be reduced.
- Take quick spot check noise measurements using a simple noise meter such as the low-costing Pulsar Model 14 or the Pulsar Nova 42 to identify high noise areas and record noise levels over time.
- Establish quiet zones or break out rooms for meetings or for staff to focus.
- Make improvements to office design through careful partitioning, desk arrangement, and other noise mitigation measures such as selecting ceilings that don’t bounce noise throughout the office, and choosing carpets and engineered flooring that absorb noise to improve the acoustic environment of the office.
- Indoor plants and living walls can also absorb a surprising amount of noise in the office.
- In some cases, employers might look at allowing staff to wear suitable headphones to listen to music or otherwise block out distraction.
- Why not discover how you can protect workers and patients from noise in hospitals too?