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The History of Sound Masking & 5 Ways to Use It

February 22, 2012 By

Sound Masking 101

Sound masking is a fairly modern technology, but actually a time-proven practice.  The Romans used fountains to drown out street noise.  Then, the first sound masking technology as technology (and not water-based) was probably the original Musak system, launched in 1922. During the same period, there was a movement toward open-office floor plans, and Major General James O. Squier’s patented technology of syndicating music over power lines into office lobbies and waiting rooms had the unintended result of significantly improving worker productivity in those office environments. However, music isn’t uniform (how boring would it be if it were!), and when you add in singing, it can actually be a distraction. A true sound masking system was needed.  It didn’t take long to begin developing sound masking specifically tailored to match the spectrum of human speech, resulting in less distracting volume levels by the early 1970’s.  Recently, researchers have come out with the first truly new leap in sound masking technology in nearly 40 years: a “direct field” system using a pre-tuned sound spectrum.  In addition to sound masking systems, we still have sound machines for individual use.

Now that you have the history of sound masking, here are 5 ways to use sound masking in its various forms for your varied reasons.

5 Ways to Use Sound Masking

1. For work. This is a pretty common use of sound masking since the average worker is distracted up to 2 hours every day.  While any distraction counts, the most commonly cited problem is conversational distraction.  Thus, an individual sound machine is a great resource for tuning out this kind of noise. Better yet, sound masking throughout the office space can provide this benefit to the entire office.

2. For sleep. if you ever struggle falling (or staying) asleep because of unwanted sounds, then using a sound machine next to your bed will mask the annoying sounds from neighbors or street noise, helping you sleep better and stay asleep with fewer interruptions.

3. For kids. Sound machines can work wonders with kid’s sensitive sleep schedules. Maybe your children are sharing a room for the first time, or you want them to easily sleep through the noise of your dinner party. White noise can ensure good, uninterrupted sleep for your little ones, which means better sleep for you, too.

4. For relaxation. After a long day at work, you want to come home to relax and unwind, but a barking dog across the street is interrupting your reverie. You can relax to the sounds of nature found on many household sound machines. Enjoy the sound of the sea as you sit down to read a good book.

5. For tinnitus. Ringing in your ears, also known as tinnitus can be very distracting and uncomfortable. The irritation caused by tinnitus can be lessened though the use of sound therapy, letting you relax.

A sound machine provides a more focused environment, free of intrusive and distracting noise. This can increase your productivity at work, or provide you with a more restful night’s sleep. Sound masking can also be utilized throughout a open office space to provide better productivity and confidentiality for everyone. Try sound masking for yourself, and begin enjoying the benefits of improved concentration and better sleep!

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Sound Masking for March Madness

February 20, 2012 By

March Madness

As we all know, March Madness is around the corner.  For some, this time is full of excitement and evenings full of friends and good food.  For others, well, it’s a time they could care less about.  Either way, this season is a time of distraction for all because it’s all that’s on anyone’s mind whether they want it to be or not.  In fact, check out the following article from the New Yorker:

For American businesses, though, the N.C.A.A. tournament is just an occasion to worry about distracted and inattentive employees spending more time online than they do working. There have been some outlandish assessments of how much March Madness costs companies in lost productivity: back in 2006, a much hyped (and later debunked) estimate put the cost at an absurd $3.8 billion. But, crazy as such estimates are, there’s no doubt that the Internet has made it much easier—and more entertaining—to slack off at the office. In a widely cited survey from 2005, people said that the Net was their favorite way to waste time at work—and that was before the advent of Twitter. Businesses have responded by trying, in various ways, to restrict access. One study found that half of all companies block access to Facebook and Twitter….

Essentially, this article talks about the level of distraction March Madness brings.  And, exaggerated or not, everyone agrees that online activities such as the NCAA finals are incredibly distracting.  What everyone does not agree upon is how exactly to deal with such distractions.  The New Yorker article goes on to say that

The catch is that plenty of new research suggests that forcing Internet-addicted employees to go cold turkey may make them less productive, not more.

Sound Masking

I tend to agree.  Forcing workers off the internet is risky business indeed.  At the very least, it brooks resentment, and at worst, as the article suggests, makes workers even less productive.  So, from a managerial perspective, what can you do to deal decisively with distraction?  A simple, but strong solution is sound masking.  Sound masking is the use of white noise to lessen the effects of office noise, including distraction.  Granted sound masking does nothing directly with online distraction, but it does provide a consistent hum that keeps workers’ minds more focused and in tune with their work, instead of snared by every passing noise.

Sound masking is a reasonable means of dealing with distraction that does not make workers resentful.

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Keeping Patients Satisfied with Sound Masking

February 15, 2012 By

Keeping customers happy is crucial for most business practices, even if it’s near impossible.  Customers can be quite choosy in what they feel entitled to or expect to happen.  However, if you want to stay in business, keeping their wishes in mind is definitely wise.  This is true even for medical practices.  Patients have just as many expectations as customers, if not more, and those expectations, if unmet, usually result in the loss of said patients.  In fact, according to Press Ganey individual satisfaction surveys, there is a clear connection between affected individual satisfaction together with their opinion of quality of care and success at their medical facilities.

The findings show that satisfied patients feel less stress.  This makes them happier, which means they are friendlier to medical staff, who in turn, deal with less stress on their own part.  Even more importantly, these satisfied patients are far more likely to share their own happy experiences to their friends and family, which often results in referrals and new patients.

Dealing with Noise

So, what are some of the patients’ unmet expectations?  One significant problem is noise and lack of speech privacy. Many patients feel very vulnerable within a medical facility for fear of being overheard or overhearing inappropriate conversations.  If too serious, they will look for other providers.  An easy solution is sound masking in which low-level white noise is added to the background for speech privacy.  It’s inexpensive and doesn’t change any aesthetics because it’s just speakers in the ceiling tiles- easy to install and definitely out of sight.

Perception is everything, and your patients ought to feel important enough that their personal records, appointments, and conversations are safeguarded. Instead of tearing out, replacing, or re-designing your medical facility, try a sound masking system for speech privacy.

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Tips for Boosting Productivity

February 13, 2012 By

Getting more done in the same amount of time is a constant struggle for most people.  We all feel like we could use some extra hours in our days, yet we’re too tired at the end of the day to really want to actually have to factor in extra hours!  Thus, working smarter with our time has never been more important- whether you are juggling work and family life, several jobs, or just a lot of deadlines, maximizing productivity should be at the top of your list.

In light of that, I started a 2-part series last time for tips for maximizing productivity, which included ridding yourself of distractions and setting up an organized work station.  Then, I suggested a few pointers for writer’s block.  Today, I’d like to focus on how ergonomic products can also lend a hand in increasing productivity.

Step 3: Go Ergonomic

It may seem that doing well at your job means you are just naturally gifted in that area.  That may be the case for some, but most of us have to work at it.  We go to school and get degrees in our fields, and we may even attend seminars or courses to enhance our learning.  Besides actual training in our fields of expertise, however, like a master carpenter we also need the right tools to excel.  Some of those tools are practices like we talked about last time.  Some, though, are actual pieces of equipment that will make our work more efficient and effective.
It is my belief that working ergonomically is working smart.  The whole design of ergonomic equipment is meant to better support your body, from work-induced migraines to an aching back to painful wrists or tingling fingers.  They are meant to fit you better and hopefully fit you specifically.   By getting the right fit, you can work more comfortably and without fear of strain or stress.  Additionally, having the right tools help you work faster, and faster is almost always better.
So, the next step is choosing the right tools.  While it would be ideal to be able to upgrade your entire work station, and therefore experience, to an ergonomic set-up, I’ll be realistic that most of us can’t do that.  Thus, it’s important to prioritize which tools would suit you best.  Whatever your needs and/or preferences are, the most important thing to keep in mind is fit.  You should feel comfortable and well-supported in every way: your chair, your desk, your work station set-up, and certainly your keyboard and mouse.  With this in mind, re-work your space so that all essential items are within an easy arm’s reach so you never have to over-extend your reach and risk straining your shoulders or back.  Additionally, keep your monitor at eye level to reduce neck strain, headaches, and eye strain.  Lastly, keep your keyboard and mouse tucked in next to each other to minimize excessive movement while you type and mouse.

Most Effective Ergo Products for the Productivity-Lover

Here are my favorite ergonomic upgrades for the computer user as they give the biggest bang for the buck and are fairly easy changes to implement.  Plus, they boost productivity because they either support you for maximum comfort or aid in efficiency- either way, they help keep you focused on work and not on discomfort.
  • Try some back support.  Ergo chairs aren’t for everyone’s budget, so a good go-to is portable lumbar support.  This is particularly helpful for those of us who don’t always work in the same spot.
  • Upgrade to an ergonomic work station.  Dock your laptop, elevate it to eye level, and plug in an ergonomic keyboard and mouse.  Your back, eyes, hands, and wrists will thank you.  We put so much strain on our bodies when we work from a too-low screen or cock our wrists to type.
  • Try a document holder.  If you type from notes or read from text more than just a little, try a document holder.  It will keep your notes elevated and therefore keep you from dipping your head to and straining your eyes to see them.
Upgrading to an ergonomic workstation boosts productivity because it keeps you healthy and efficient.
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How & Why Sound Masking Works

February 3, 2012 By

What is a sound masking system?

A  sound masking system provides coverage for all those nasty distractions the average worker faces every day at work.  In fact, each worker loses two hours of productive work each day as a result of distractions, and all those hours ends up costing businesses  about $600 billion a year.   As a result, it’s not really that surprising that managers and company owners are on the hunt for cost-effective ways to cut distraction in order to reclaim their portion of the loss.

As previously mentioned, a sound masking is a noise solution that uses another kind of noise to off-set distraction.  By using white noise as a low-level background noise to cover ambient noise, office noise, including conversational distraction, workers are able to tune out all the noise and focus on work.  Adding noise to cover noise is always seen as counter-intuitive.  It’s important to note that white noise is quite different than typical office noise.  It is is uniform and structured, and therefore not annoying or distracting.

Sound Masking for Confidentiality & Productivity

The main two reasons to use sound masking technology are to achieve speech privacy for the purpose of improving confidentiality and productivity.

  • Less distraction at work: By masking conversations and excess noise, the average worker can be up to 25% more productive with their work hours. Sound masking installed in the entire office space will benefit the entire office.
  • Improved privacy and confidentiality: Many office situations need confidentiality – human resources, government services, medical facilities, counseling, and many more. Sound masking significantly improves privacy and confidentiality throughout an entire office. It uses white noise to make human speech unintelligible to those beyond the immediate conversation.
  • Decreased stress for workers: Most of us are not aware of the stress we experience from trying to block excess noise around us. Think about trying to write an important email, or work through a complicated problem, all the while there is a noise, maybe a conversation or a horn honking, that is trying to gain your attention.  According to a study by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), even a small acoustic treatment can reduce worker stress by more than 25%.

The appropriate use of white noise in a work place, even on an individual scale, can lower stress and increase concentration by masking background conversations and noise. Quality office-wide, sound masking provides effective privacy and confidentiality, while decreasing office distractions.

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Helping Your Employees Make the Most of Their Time

February 3, 2012 By

This time of year is not the most productive for many workers.  New year’s resolutions aside (which may or may not involve work goals), many people find themselves distracted or even depressed.  February is a tough time- the holidays are over, yet it’s still cold and not quite the invigorating spring we all anticipate.  Whether it’s lack of productivity or feelings of depression, there are two gifts you can your employees which will benefit them and you in the long run.

Dealing with Distraction

First, let’s deal with distraction.  The average worker is distracted 2 hours every day, which costs businesses about $600billion annually.  That’s because distraction leads to a lack of focus which invites mistakes and stress. Additionally, distracted workers are disengaged workers, and disengaged workers turn up for work less and turn over more frequently.  The cost of replacing these employees temporarily or permanently adds up quickly.

Interestingly, a lot of distraction is due to office noise, namely conversations.  An easy way to deal with conversational distraction is to install a sound masking system.  Systems like the VoiceArrest have speakers that go directly in the ceiling tiles and therefore cost relatively little and require no aesthetic changes.  The speakers emit very low-level white noise so that workers tune out it and the surrounding noise so they can get back to work.

Dealing with Depression

Next, let’s talk about depression.  Depression may not seem like an office issue, but Seasonal Affective Disorder affects millions of Americans.  It’s a form of depression that occurs in the winter months, and usually due to lack of sunlight.  Like sound masking, an equally simple solution is light therapy .  By adding a few “happy lights” to the office decor, you literally brighten up the office mood because the light replicates the rays of the sun.  It’s another low-cost means of dealing with common office problems.

If your workers struggle with distraction (and they do) or seasonal depression, try out sound masking system and/or light therapy for low-cost, easy to use solutions.

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Dear, Call Centers- Be Professional! Love, Your Future Customer

February 2, 2012 By

Dear Caller…

Who loves a good sales call right before (or even better, during) dinner?  You’re trying to get food on the table, kids’ homework done, the baby settled, all without punching the wall.  Throw in some difficult to decipher sales call from a call center and punching the wall becomes all but an inevitability.  To top it off, they usually ask for the wrong person, and when I say that person doesn’t live here, they try to talk to me instead.  Real professional, guys.  Calling for Mrs. Smith and settling for whoever answered the phone doesn’t exactly win you my time.  Plus, when I can’t understand you from all the background noise, it makes me realize, I really am just a number (I can’t say name because you don’t typically know it!), and I have no qualms about putting the phone back on the receiver.  I already screen my calls- if I can screen my mother, I can certainly start to screen your silly 1-800 number without feeling remorseful, too.

Try Sound Masking

I’m guessing this is not news to a call center manager.  However, it may feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle.  From having a 1-800 number on the caller ID to people being pretty impatient with unwelcome calls, you might feel there’s nothing you can do, save hope for a bored housewife.  My suggestion would be to try to up your professional game. If your product is worth buying or your cause worth investing in, take the time to make me feel safe and comfortable.  It is my opinion that the call center is responsible for providing a professional and personal call experience for their customers.  Think about the following:

  • Background sound, even other callers, can make a customer feel like a number instead of a person.
  • The same background noise can be quite distracting for both customer and caller.
  • When a potential customer hears all this, it only adds to the feeling that their personal information is up for grabs.

Noise Solutions for Call Centers

As a result, as you plan a call center or seek to resolve the common noise problems therein, here a few things you should consider:

  • Keep callers separated if possible so that they are not shoulder to shoulder as they make calls.
  • Partitions or sound-absorbing panels can lessen ambient sound.
  • Some companies offer headsets that help the callers focus on the customers and not the noise around them.
  • Finally, consider sound masking, which aides both the caller and the customer because both can hear the other person and not the craziness in the call center itself.

The goal of a call center is to get current or potential customers or donors to stay on the line, listen attentively, and be heard themselves.  This kind of interaction is only possible if the customer feels like an individual and that their personal and financial information can be given without fear of it being spread beyond the intended hearer.  If you consider these factors as you plan your call center, your chances for success are exponentially higher.

Thus, if background noise is a problem for your call center, consider sound masking for a reduction of distractions and increased speech privacy if you’d like to have a successful conversation with potential customers or donors.

 

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The Problem with Distracted, Disengaged Workers

February 1, 2012 By

Why Are Workers Distracted?

Workers are distracted.  There’s no denying it.  And we’re not talking about a few minutes here and a few minutes there- rather, studies consistently show that the average worker is distracted more than 2 hours every day.  Read that again- 2 hours every day!!  That really adds up when you multiply it by every worker in your office.  The obvious next question, then, is why are workers so distracted?  What is grabbing their attention for so long, and can you rid yourself of it, thus freeing up their time to work again?

Study after study and worker after worker will tell you that the main problem is office noise.  Any mother of a napping-aged child will tell you how devastating unwanted noise is.  We all know that unwanted noise is intrusive and usually interrupts our train of thought, thus proving quite distracting. The problem with distraction is that it leads to stress and mistakes.  Distracted workers feel frustrated because they lose so much time that they often end up either not meeting deadlines or working evenings and/or weekends to make up the time.  In addition, distracted workers make more mistakes than focused workers. Being stressed, error-prone, and weekend warriors leads us back to where we started: frustration.

Distracted Workers are Disengaged Workers

All of this contributes to what is called a disengaged worker, or a worker who has lost connection with his job.  The problem with disengaged workers is that they cost businesses billions of dollars a year due to

  • loss of productivity
  • errors
  • work-related stress/injuries
  • more sick days
  • frequent turn-over
And that is why disengaged workers are frustrated- they are stressed, losing time, and experiencing more illness and turn-over.  Unfortunately, even a new job doesn’t tune out distractions, so the same problems just keep repeating themselves.  The only real solution is sound masking, the use of white noise to provide a low-level background noise to cover ambient noise that causes so much distraction.  Sound masking is highly effective against office noise.
If distracted workers are problem for you, check out sound masking for more productive employees.
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Why Call Centers Need Sound Masking

January 25, 2012 By

Noise Problems for Call Centers

As a stay at home, work from home mother who plans all day how to get dinner on the table with all 4 members of my family present, there is little I like less than some sort of sales call.  As I am seating kids and dishing up and hoping the baby stays asleep, I’m not exactly hoping that someone calls to ask me to donate money either.  As good as the cause might be, it’s just a hard time of day.  I’m not a jerk about it, I’m just not that open to giving away money or my personal information at that time.  Now, throw in background noise that makes me strain to hear whoever is talking to me, as I am measuring if this is a legit call or not, and I’m pretty much going to hang up.  I don’t know of anyone who wants to volunteer credit card information or other personal details in such an unprofessional context.

I can only imagine this is not what the manager of a call center wants to hear.  However, it’s the very thing he or she needs to hear!  If your product if worth buying or your cause worth investing in, take the time to make me feel safe and comfortable.  It is my opinion that the call center is responsible for providing a professional and personal call experience for their customers.  Unfortunately, as seen above, call centers suffer from many sound problems that do not allow for successful business practices:

  • Background sound, even other callers, can make a customer feel like a number instead of a person.
  • The same background noise can be quite distracting for both customer and caller.
  • When a potential customer hears all this, it only adds to the feeling that their personal information is up for grabs.

Noise Solutions for Call Centers

As a result, as you plan a call center or seek to resolve the common noise problems therein, here a few things you should consider:

  • Keep callers separated if possible so that they are not shoulder to shoulder as they make calls.
  • Partitions or sound-absorbing panels can lessen ambient sound.
  • Some companies offer headsets that help the callers focus on the customers and not the noise around them.
  • Finally, consider sound masking, which aides both the caller and the customer because both can hear the other person and not the craziness in the call center itself.

The goal of a call center is to get current or potential customers or donors to stay on the line, listen attentively, and be heard themselves.  This kind of interaction is only possible if the customer feels like an individual and that their personal and financial information can be given without fear of it being spread beyond the intended hearer.  If you consider these factors as you plan your call center, your chances for success are exponentially higher.

Thus, if background noise is a problem for your call center, consider sound masking for a reduction of distractions and increased speech privacy if you’d like to have a successful conversation with potential customers or donors.

 

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Office Distractions You Can’t Ignore

January 23, 2012 By

8.1 Million Hours of Productivity Lost during March Madness

Back during March Madness last year, I read an interesting article about how much productivity was lost during that 3-week span itself.  The article reported that 80% of interviewed office workers admitted they probably bet on the games during work hours.  In addition, while difficult to measure, one firm estimated that about 8.7 million hours of work time would be lost as a result of the NCAA championship games.  What caught my attention was the later premise of the article:

“If people are getting their work done, and doing it well, don’t make a big deal about distractions,” she suggests, adding: “The last thing you should ever do is make a formal policy restricting non-work activities in the office. Those policies rarely fix anything. They just make people grumpy.” And who needs that?…”

Which Distractions Can You Afford to Ignore?

I know we all have different opinions, which is why I am referencing this article: proof that there are several ways to look at the same problem.  While I agree that cracking down on petty rules is counter-productive and with later comments that workers are adept at multitasking, I disagree that all workers are that adept or that distraction itself, as a whole, should be ignored.  There are many forms of distraction, not just technology.  A major cause of work distraction is co-worker conversation.  I do not know of many people who can hold a sane, coherent conversation while typing an error-free, cohesive project proposal or email response.  Thus, when that 80% of co-workers are betting on the game and setting up their brackets,endless rivalry and chatter doubtlessly surround it.  That’s hard to ignore even when an innocent bystander.

Thus, I stick with my previous opinion that managers should not set up silly rules about computer use and personal versus business because no one will follow them and it’s hard to police without being Big Brother and running off your staff.  However, I do feel that the other side of distraction- those of conversation and noise- are definitely worth counter-acting with sound masking.  Just by introducing a little low-level background noise, you can cover the unwanted sound and restore a little peace to the office without burning bridges with your employees.  And since hundreds of billions of dollars are lost every year because of distraction, it’s hard to ignore them all with a clear conscience.

Some distractions are worth ignoring, while others- those of noise and conversation- can be counter-acted with sound masking for increased productivity office-wide.

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