Here are some of the things sound masking can’t do.

• Sound masking  does not mean sound cancellation.You will still be able to hear noises, especially loud noises. You will still be able to hear that a nearby conversation is going on, but you probably won’t be able to distinguish what is actually being said.

• Sound masking does not absorb noise. For that you would need special ceiling tiles or acoustic wall panels.
• Sound masking does not block noise. That is done by physical structures, i.e. walls, partitions, windows, etc.
• Sound masking will not make all your employees get along. They may however, get along better, since they (hopefully) will not be interacting as much due to not being so distracted by each other.
• Sound masking will not stop ALL distractions. The internet and cell phones will still exist after your sound masking system has been installed.
• Sound masking will not do your paperwork for you. However, it will make it easier for you to do it, as you will not have as many conversational distractions to keep you from focusing.
• Sound masking will not make your coffee for you. You’re on your own for that one.

What sound masking will do for you

Sound masking is used to cover noise. It “fills in” the sound spectrum around you with barely noticeable “unstructured” noise (“structured” noise would be noiese such as someone speaking or music that have patterns and convey information). Your brain will tune out unstructured noise as it searches for the structured variety. Studies have shown that offices with even small acoustical treatments (i.e. sound masking)

• Were 48% more focused on their work
• 51% less distracted, resulting in
• 10% fewer errors and a
• 27% decrease in worker stress

So while there are some things that sound masking can’t do (like make your coffee) that is a LOT that it can do. What could sound masking do for your company and its employees?

However, recent studies have shown that there are ways to “manage the effects of the informational bottleneck”. One of those ways is to “manage attention so that unwanted stimuli do not crowd the working memory.” The unwanted stimuli is distractions in general.

How does this apply to me?

You are probably thinking at this point, “What does all of this have to do with increasing my workers’ productivity?” Quite simply, it is relevant because further studies about this have found that “distraction during learning can be harmful, even if the distraction doesn’t seem to injure [the subjects'] immediate performance on their tasks.” They found that people stored the information in different parts of their brains based on whether they were learning it with or without distractions. When undistracted, the subjects showed “flexibility” with the information.  They were “more likely to be able to draw analogies and extrapolate from it.”  So not only were they remembering what they learned, but they were  also taking that information and using it in new ways. It boils down to the fewer distractions a person is encountering, the better able they are able to take in information, remember it, and then use it.

Sadly, the average worker gets distracted more than 70 times a day, with the majority of these being conversational distractions. If you are able to minimize those distractions, that will help your workers to be able to take in the information they need and be able to use it effectively, such as remembering ideas and information better and (hopefully) synthesizing those in an effective way that perhaps no one has thought of before.  That can only help your business.

Obviously you cannot control all the distractions in the work place. You can, however, help to mitigate the conversational distractions that your workers experience with sound masking. People working in environments with sound masking were 48% more focused on their work and 51% less distracted, which resulted in 10% fewer errors. (Perhaps because they were storing the information in their brain in such a way that allowed them to be able to use it effectively!) Sound masking is a way to help your workers not only work better and with less stress, but to be able to use the information they have gained to develop new and dynamic ways of doing things.

This is definitely NOT what you want to see in your office!

One way is to better utilize the resources you already have—your workers. The average American worker is distracted more than 2 hours a day, with conversational distraction ranking right after internet usage. That is 2 wasted hours that you are paying for that you are not getting anything in return. Instead of starting an office task force to nag your workers into what they are supposed to be doing, why not take a proactive, but less invasive approach–sound masking.

By masking the source of the distractions, you enable your workers to be more productive without adding unnecessary stress to their work environment. Studies have shown that sound masking increased a worker’s ability to focus on tasks by up to 48% and eliminated distractions (especially conversational distractions) by up to 51%.  With even minor adjustments in the office sound environment a substantial increase in performance and productivity can be seen. 

On a scale from 1-10, how engaged do you think your workers are?

“I get so easily distracted at work that I lose focus and can’t concentrate. I actually welcome the distractions because I would rather play than work! It’s a good thing that I am unemployed. I have no work to be distracted from!”  (taken from a real blog!)

While most people won’t celebrate unemployment in this economy, most probably would agree that distraction at work is not only common, it’s your worst enemy.  Businesses like yours lost an estimated $700 billion in 2008 as a result of distractions, conversational distractions the biggest contributor.

Sadly, distractions are part and parcel to working collaboratively in a multiple-office work space and certainly among the cubicle farm.  However, distractions don’t have to be as devastating as hundreds of billions of dollars a year.  In fact, as a manager you can simply forbid your employees to speak or disconnect any phone that rings.  Just kidding.  Just like distraction, noise is also a part of every office- it simply needs to be managed.  Many businesses opt to install office-wide sound masking systems to help cover intrusive distractions.

Instead of forcing your employees to cope on their own (such as googling “distracted at work” or using headphones to drone out interruptions, both of which ironically further distract said worker ), take this serious problem into your own hands.  In this economy, every dollar counts- there really isn’t time to play table hockey.

"Efficient" is defined as working without waste or using a minimum of time, effort and expense. But, the definition is silent about the goals of the operation. A person can be very efficient at what they are doing but still not get to where they want to be because they aren’t doing the right things. That’s where "effective" comes in. "Effective" means "having the desired result". Once the desired overall result is defined, the tasks leading to the result can be isolated and these tasks can then be completed efficiently….

So, while your business’s specific goals will determine how to be effective, being efficient is a little more universal.  In fact, the average worker wastes 2 or more hours  a day because he is distracted by conversations, ringing and/or buzzing phones, and who knows what else…A loss of 2 hours per employee is not exactly efficient.  One option might be sound masking.  Most people can’t work in ceaseless clamor, but at the same time, they can’t be productive in silence either.  Sound masking is like white noise in that it provides a low-level "hum" that can help workers to tune out irritating distractions that keep them from being productive. Many companies and small businesses have found that plugging the leak of conversational distractions is more than worth the initial investment.