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Managing the Informational Bottleneck

March 23, 2010 By

In the 1950s, studies found that  humans possess an “informational bottleneck”- basically the idea that the human mind can only take in so much information at a time under good conditions. Even less information is taken in and processed when distracted.

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.

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Technological Tools for More Productivity

March 22, 2010 By

Providing the Right Context for Good Choices

After having 2 children, I have come to the conclusion that 2 things are true: I can not make them eat and I cannot make them sleep.  I don’t care what the books say, when my son buttons his mouth closed and when my daughter sings to herself in bed, there is nothing I can do to physically make them capitulate to my wishes.  I have come to terms with these two truths because I also know that my responsibility is simply to give them the right context for good choice.  For instance, I can’t make Luke eat, but I can offer healthy options and not cave by placating his whimsical tummy.  And I can’t make Rebekah sleep, but I can give her quiet time in her room where she just might drift off if left alone.

The right tools for success

It doesn't matter how many tools you have, if you're missing the right one.

Similarly, while you can’ make your workers more productive, you can give them the tools to succeed.  Complaining about worker productivity and then doing nothing about it is irresponsible management.  It’s your job to provide the right context and the best equipment for business achievement and success.  Entrepeneur lays out 5 specific principles for worker productivity, including clear expectations, regular feedback, and the best technology and tools.  I would argue that one of the best pieces of technology you can give your employees is sound masking.  Clear expectations and daily feedback are great, but aren’t worth much if your workers can’t concentrate on their tasks due to excessive office noise.  Sound masking emits low-level background noise (akin to an HVAC whoosh) to softly, but effectively cover ambient noise.  The results have been more than positive:

  • Focus: the ability of office workers to focus on their tasks improved by 48%
  • Distractions: “conversational distractions” decreased by 51%
  • Error-rates: performance of standard “information-worker” tasks (measured in terms of accuracy [error-rates] and short-term memory) improved by 10%
  • Stress: when measured in terms of the actual physical symptoms of stress, stress was reduced by 27%

Better focus and fewer distractions and errors always lend themselves to increased productivity.  Throw in happier, less stressed workers, and it’s the whole package.

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Being Proactive

March 15, 2010 By

In today’s difficult economy it is important that you take a proactive approach to your company’s profit margin. Not only are there fewer dollars to go around these days, but it is increasingly competitive to obtain those dollars. You have to continually be proactive and think of new ways to shrink your bottom line and to make a profit.

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. 

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More stress, fewer solutions…that’s not good

December 27, 2009 By

More stress, less problem-solving, and fewer ergonomic adjustments does not inspire creative, efficient work.

A Cornell study found the following to be true (emphasis mine):

The environmental psychologists found that the workers in the noisy office experienced significantly higher levels of stress (as measured by urinary epinephrine), made 40 percent fewer attempts to solve an unsolvable puzzle and made only half as many ergonomic adjustments to their workstations as did their colleagues in quiet offices. Typing performance, however, was not affected.

With a cut-throat economy and the need for creative solutions, now is not the time to increase stress, while simultaneously decreasing the ability to problem-solve and make needed adjustments to one’s workspace.  If you need your employees just to type, then you don’t need to worry about acoustic treatments, so that’s good news.  Otherwise, you might want to consider making acoustic adjustments so your employees can make the adjustments necessary to get their work done.  Interestingly, the same study reported (emphasis mine):

“In terms of practice, our findings are potentially important, because if worker motivation is lower under open-office noise because of its uncontrollability, various design options could be adopted. For example, when concentration is required, workers might use a quiet, enclosed room or sound-making devices that they would control. These kinds of measures might help alleviate the harmful effects of open-office noise on workers.”

There are a variety of sound masking units and systems currently available on the market.  Some can be installed office-wide and others can be installed for individual use and adjustment.  Either way, sound masking is a relatively simple and cost effective measure to take for you and your employees to get the most out of each work day.

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That’s it! I’m off to Starbuck’s

December 23, 2009 By

I’ll take a mocha frappucino and 2 more productive hours, please

Did you know that some workers have to actually leave work to be productive?  They find that leaving all the office distractions behind and working from home or even at Starbuck’s.  Phenomenal- having to escape work to actually work.  Now why is that?  Well, the average worker in an open-style office:

  • Is distracted more than 2 hours a day
  • Gets interrupted more than 70 times per day
  • Struggles to stay focused more than 30 minutes at a time
  • Suffers from stress and fatigue
  • Experience high levels of stress
  • Made 40 percent fewer attempts to solve difficult problems
  • Make only half as many ergonomic adjustments to their workstations as did their colleagues in quiet offices, resulting in an increase in repetitive strain injuries (such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) and workers’ comp claims.

Go figure they’d have to leave the cramped, not to mention distracting, quarters of the cubicle farm to be productive.

So what can you do about it?

Your job as a manager is to minimize distractions so your employees can maximize their work.  You have several options: the quiet game, addition of walls and sound-absorbing paneling, or covering sound with sound masking.  I think we can agree that the quiet game is out, though always a fun choice.  Adding walls and paneling is expensive, doesn’t always line up with design aesthetics, and also contributes to VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) and/or the collection of dust mites or allergens.  That leaves us with sound masking- an invisible noise solution (like white noise) tucked away in the ceiling.  Most sound masking systems are easy to install and very low-maintenance.

In times like these, every hour counts.  Survey your options and help your employees return to work.

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October 21, 2009 By

Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden

If the average worker is distracted, it usually takes almost half an hour to get back to his work or task.  At least there aren’t that many distractions, right?  Wrong.  Today’s employees feel frazzled by how often they are interrupted by co-workers’ conversations, phone calls, machinery noise, and slamming doors.  In fact, the average worker loses more than two hours of his work day as a result of such unwanted distractions. 

Sound masking is the new “silence” 

It’s not that your employees actually need silence even.  Rather it’s that they need a work environment conducive to concentration and cohesive thought.   Sound masking provides that by cancelling unwelcome distractions with a uniform, not to mention pleasant, sound.  Plus, our pre-tuned technology is designed for easy installation and no maintenance.   

You simply can’t afford to have your employees distracted by everyday occurrences such as these.  Contact us to find out more about what you can afford for your employees’ productivity.

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Co-mingling leads to co-ringing

October 12, 2009 By

Co-mingling and co-ringing

There’s a reason dating a co-worker is frowned upon in most work places- it’s not that you don’t want your employees to experience a great relationship with someone in your office, it’s that you don’t want them constantly distracted when they should be working. 

Along the same lines, modern technology in open offices presents similar distractions.  Rather than concentrating on their work and meeting their deadlines, most employees find it challenging to keep their mind on the task at hand.  As soon as they do begin to focus, someone’s phone rings or the workers three cubicles down congregate to share a laugh about the weekend’s antics.  Who could ignore that?

Tuning it out

You’ve probably figured out that you can hardly ask, much less force, your employees to tune out noisy distractions.  But you can help them not become distracted by them in the first place by implementing a sound masking system.  Instead of random and sharp distractions, a sound masking system delivers a uniform and peaceful background hum that enables workers to…well, work.  And who could pass that up?

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