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Open Office Speech Privacy

April 22, 2008 By

As much bad press as open offices (or “cube farms”) often get, they do have some clear benefits – and yes, some do apply to workers!  Further, most of the complaints are a result of a lack of speech privacy – a problem that’s relatively easy to fix.

Older offices or executive suites (read: offices with walls and doors) are great for achieving speech privacy.  But they’re terrible for collaboration, and when everyone gets to work and shuts themselves in their office, it can be a pretty cold, sterile environment.

On the other hand, open office plans are great for collaboration (to say nothing of getting the latest gossip on your coworkers!).  The chatter can be great for team-building, and is essential for collaboration – one of the primary reasons so many business have moved to wide open areas with low cube walls.

The downside is that there’s little control over how far speech travels in such environments.  If you work in one, you know the drill: you can hear someone speaking two rows away in some places!  Always makes me wonder how much of what I’ve said reaches an unintended audience.

Is Speech Privacy Just Not an Option in Open Offices?

Most workers just endure it, and tell those around them to use “inside voices,” assuming speech privacy is just the price you pay when you work in an open office.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  It’s actually quite possible to achieve speech privacy in open office spaces – and at a price even small open offices can afford.

How to Achieve Open Office Speech Privacy

Achieving open office speech privacy is really just a matter of covering speech.  If you think about it, it’s not rocket science.  When you’re in a crowded, noisy space, you can’t pick out any one conversation and listen in.  But if you’re in a library, you can often hear a whispered comment from across the room.  So then finding an effective covering sound – known as “sound masking” that isn’t itself distracting or irritating is the key.

If you’re looking to provide open office speech privacy for your workers – or even just for your cubicle, Speech Privacy Systems offers some good solutions for open office workers and cube-farmers.  There’s a great article on that site explaining the ABC’s of office speech privacy in even the most challenging environments.

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How to Choose a Sound Masking System

April 5, 2008 By

Studies – most notably by the Canadian Research Council – have shown that the number one cause of lost productivity at work is conversational distractions. Workers can be distracted by anything from the photocopier, to ringing telephones, to a conversation in the cubicle next to them.

Sound masking systems can be very effective at masking background noises in places of business. They help mask noise by overriding the frequencies of the noise, effectively muting the noise to a very measurable degree.

But what makes a sound masking system effective? Can different systems have different effects? Do some work better than others? If you’re going to invest in a sound masking system, it pays to be certain you’re getting your money’s worth.

Many years ago, sound masking systems emitted very loud noise that was often more distracting than the background noise. In the 1970s, the frequencies were adjusted to match the frequencies in the human voice, which allowed the volume to be reduced substantially while still being effective at blocking much of the background noise in the typical work environment.

These days, sound masking systems can be quite sophisticated. The better systems are able to mask the sound of the human voice, as well as other general office sounds, while still remaining under 48 decibels.

Going over 48 decibels can reach the tolerance level of many people, to the point of being more distracting than the original noise. Good sound masking systems keep their volume under 48 decibels.

Very high-quality sound masking systems make use of a newer direct field configuration. Instead of being mounted in the plenum above the ceiling, emitters are positioned on the ceiling tiles themselves.

This makes sense: you’re buying sound. You wouldn’t buy a high-end car stereo and put the speakers in the trunk. Given the limited speaker technology 40 years ago, it might have made sense to bury the speakers in the plenum, but not anymore.

The latest generation of wide-angle, direct-field office sound masking systems are able to achieve a higher level of sound reduction, while staying at a lower volume than older, traditional plenum-based systems. The wide-angle dispersion is key – simply flipping over the older style loudspeakers won’t work. It’s also why – unlike plenum-based systems – these direct-field systems can provide good sound masking across a wide area, all while maintaining a quiet volume level.

If you’re looking for the best sound masking system for your office, you should make sure to ask your dealer if the system is hidden in the plenum or if it actually treats the area you want treated. Also, be sure the volume level doesn’t go above 48 decibels. Ask them if their speakers are wide-angle (i.e. greater than 1000). The combination of these will tell you whether the system provides a good, even noise masking effect – giving you the most effective office sound masking for your investment!

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Sound Masking Is a Benefit to Employers and Employees

April 4, 2008 By

Sound masking systems help reduce noise in the workplace. Excessive noise can be distracting, causing employees to lose focus. Studies have shown that when someone loses focus, they may take as long as fifteen minutes to recover the level of concentration they had before the interruption.

Noise is a big problem in most offices. Several surveys have shown that over 70% of employees cite noise distractions as their biggest complaint with regards to their satisfaction with their work environment.

When employees are very distracted, they become less productive. When they fail to get enough done, their employer may become annoyed or angry, which leads the employee to feel a great deal of stress. Stress can have an even bigger impact on productivity than noise distractions!

Sound masking can have a number of benefits for employees. When distracting sounds are minimized, they are able to get more done. This can cause a big morale boost, because they have a very big sense of accomplishment.

Also, when their performance improves, their employer tends to take notice and reward them accordingly. This can lead to a higher job satisfaction, making them enjoy what they do. Employs who like their jobs tend to do a much better job than employees who are dissatisfied.

Employees who are stressed also find that their health begins to suffer. Stress can cause headaches, loss of sleep, immune system deficiencies, depression, irritability, and other problems.

If their stress levels are particularly high, it can lead to emotional problems, as well as problems in their relationships and home life. This leads to decreased productivity on the job, because they may be constantly distracted by their problems at home.

Sound masking can have very positive benefits for employers, as well. Reducing the stress levels of your employees can make major changes in the workplace. As mentioned previously, stress can cause all sorts of mental and physical symptoms, leading to employees taking more sick days.

This can mean a big loss of income if employees are absent too often. By reducing their stress, they should be present more often, and more productive when they’re on the job. When employee morale and job satisfaction rates are high, turnover rates decrease.

This can be very beneficial for employers, as the cost of hiring and training new employees can be quite high. By reducing stress levels and increasing job satisfaction, you can substantially decrease turnover, thus decreasing the cost of acquiring new employees.

The biggest benefit of all comes when you look at your bottom line. When employees are happy and productive, more gets accomplished. Overtime can be substantially reduced, because employees are able to get more done during their standard work hours. Profits rise, because employees are able to finish their work faster. All of these things can really boost your bottom line, making everyone happier!

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