You are here: Home / Archives for distractions

How to Choose the Best Sound Masking System for Your Office

August 16, 2011 By

Office Noise

Office noise is quite a problem.  Studies tell us that distractions, and namely conversational ones, cost US businesses $600 billion a year.    It’s a staggering number that many worry about- how to reduce distractions and lower that number?  How to increase productivity?

Better Focus through white noise machines

Office distractions can’t possibly add up to $600 billion, can they?  Yea, sure we all spend a little more time getting coffee and chatting it up than we have to, but how can that possibly add up to such an astronomical number?   Well, the truth is that the average employee is distracted more than 2 hours a day due mostly to conversational distraction, including both the conversations they actively take part in, as well as those they are held captive to by sheer proximity.  So, when you multiply 2 hours a day times 5 days a week and get 10 hours and then multiply that by the number of employees you have on staff, you start to see a whole lot more zeros.  Losing that much time means you lose that much productivity, which means you lose quite a bit of money, of course.  In what economy is loss of money good?

There’s no point in trying to ban cell phones or office chatter or anything of a decibel level over a pin dropping.  Instead, covering the sound is your best option.  In fact, you have 2 effective sound covering options.

  • Office-wide sound masking
  • Individual white noise machines

Sound masking is meant to treat large offices, conference rooms, or any larger treated area, such as a block of cubicles. Speakers are mounted within the ceiling tiles themselves and emit low-level white noise so that the brain can tune out distracting noises and stay sharper.

White noise machines do the same thing, but at a desktop level and for individuals (rather than a number of people or offices).

When choosing whether to mask sound with a system or individual machines, it’s wise to consider the amount of space you’re treating.  If you only have problem areas in scattered spots, it might be wise to invest in a few sound machines and place them for a few individuals.  However, if you need more than a few machines, it would probably be wiser to invest in an office-wide sound masking system.

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , ,

Sound Masking to Help Reduce Distractions

August 2, 2011 By

Common Distractions at Work

It’s easy to blame workers for their level of distraction at work.  While they’re obviously responsible for their own work and productivity, it’s only fair to assess if there are any other contributing influences {meaning other than themselves.  Numerous studies show that office distractions are ridiculously high, and therefore costly.  The average worker is distracted more than 2 hours every day, which costs businesses about $600 billion every year.  {I told you it was a large price tag.}  The commonly cited problem was conversational distraction, which of course is a two-way street. However, many workers are dragged into conversations they really aren’t intending to partake in.  It’s hard to tune out conflicts, loud sales guys, and general noisy co-workers.

Interestingly, there is another complaint commonly cited- that of feeling frustrated by interruptions and needless meetings.  Case in point: take a look at a recent description of the modern work place by Jason Fried of 37 Signals:

What happens is, is that you show up at work and you sit down and you don’t just immediately begin working, like you have to roll into work. You have to sort of get into a zone, just like you don’t just go to sleep, like you lay down and you go to sleep. You go to work too. But then you know, 45 minutes in, there’s a meeting. And so, now you don’t have a work day anymore, you have like this work moment that was only 45 minutes. And it’s not really 45 minutes, it’s more like 20 minutes, because it takes some time to get into it and then you’ve got to get out of it and you’ve got to go to a meeting….

And managers are the biggest problem because their whole world is built around interruption. That’s what they do. Management means interrupting. Hey, what’s going on? How’s this going? Let me call a meeting because that’s what I do all day, I call meetings. And so, managers are the real problems here and that’s got to change too.

As you just saw, Friedman singles out management as interrupters.  In fact, he defines management as “interruptions.”

How can you dis-connote management and interruptions?

Take a step back and survey your office.  From the workers’ point of view, how frequently are they interrupted?  How hard is it to get focused, or stay focused?  How loud is it?  Again, from their perspective,  do meetings feel valuable?

If your workers feel interrupted and that their time has been wasted, they will be frustrated about it and, obviously, less productive.

Remedy the situation

It’s time to take action.  You can’t control the economy or each worker’s sense of accomplishment, but you can do your part to help the situation (versus fueling the flame).

  • Rework your office space so that people aren’t crammed next to each other.
  • Institute a “quiet time“ like IBM and Intel did.  It’s just time to work on projects and be free from distraction.
  • Minimize conversational and other noise-related distractions with sound masking, which provides a quieter, less stressful, more peaceful work environment.
  • Streamline the tech devices you use- consider instituting a Campfire system, or something akin to what Friedman suggested, that enables workers to ignore nonessential interruptions and keep working until there’s a natural break.

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , ,

Sound Masking Can Improve Productivity

June 29, 2011 By

How much time do you lose each day as a result of your office space? Most people are overwhelmed with distractions and interruptions at work, especially in an open office plan. These distractions make it hard to concentrate, waste time and energy and create feelings of stress at work. Here are some practical ideas to help reduce distractions and increase productivity.

Prioritize your day. Always start immediately on a high-priority task, before checking e-mail or phone messages. This ensures that your priority projects are accomplished while you are fresh and focused, no matter what fires or interruptions come later in the day.

Use white noise. Today’s sound masking technology is very precise and uses “white” noise that is specially focused on the frequency of human speech. Office-wide sound masking can lower distractions by up to 51 percent; it effectively covers excess conversations and office noise that are always present in an open floor plan. If you have no control over the office space around you, you can still use a personal sound machine to create a distraction-free zone at your desk.

Sit up Straight! Most people do not realized how much energy they waste with poor posture/. Try to maintain a neutral typing posture while sitting at your computer. In this position your muscles are almost completely relaxed. Consider upgrading to an ergonomic chair that encourages good posture, and is correctly adjusted specifically for you. In any chair, your feet sit firmly on the ground to support your back; you can also add portable lumbar support if your backrest is not sufficient.

Limit distractions and interruptions. The average worker is interrupted more than 70 times each day, and half of those distractions are self-inflicted. Set up a “no-interruption” time to focus on one important task for 30 to 60 minutes at a time. Turn off all your self-distractions, like your phone and e-mail, and turn on a white noise machine to block office noise around you. Consider hanging a sign indicating that you currently cannot be interrupted, and a time when you will next be available.

Increasing your productivity and efficiency can lower your stress and help you complete your work by the end of the day. Start by maintaining good posture with a supportive ergonomic chair. Next, decrease the time-consuming distractions with a white noise machine. Or even better, upgrade your office space with sound masking technology to benefit the entire office. Better focus and productivity at work help you feel better about your work and enjoy less stress at the end of the day.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , ,

How Sound Masking Brings Freedom

June 28, 2011 By

The Freedom to Work

This Independence Day why not give your workers the freedom to be productive?  Did you know that more than cappuccino machines, most workers just want the freedom to do solo, distraction-free work?  So why not give them what they want this 4th of July?

The reason workers want solo, distraction-free work time is more than just wanting to get out of meetings and collaborative work.  Rather, it’s wanting time to just work, to check things off their to-do lists, to actually accomplish something in the midst of all the office chaos and drama.  Anyone who has spent a single hour in an office knows how difficult being productive can be, especially if it’s an open office floor plan.  From overly loud sales guys to excessive text messaging to chatty co-workers, it’s nearly impossible to get a full day’s work in.  Actually, it is impossible- the average worker is distracted more than 2 hours every day.  And once distracted, it takes minutes to get back on track…and who can really say how much in the game the brain really is after 70 interruptions a day?

Enter sound masking, the best way to facilitate distraction-free solo work.  Sound masking is the use of white noise to cover, or mask, unwanted noise so that even nearby conversations are rendered unintelligible.  The result of this use of sound is that the brain cannot focus on any one distraction and can stay more tuned in to work. Many people wonder about using sound to combat sound, but rest assured that sound masking is loud enough to drown out conversational distractions, but quiet enough to not be annoying or to impede work-related interaction.  So, unlike headphones or strict rules about noise (that are unlikely to be followed), sound masking still allows for discussions and collaboration when necessary. And, according to many studies, your workers will thank you for it.

Offices can be chaotic and too loud to get any real work done.  That’s where sound masking comes in- it gives your workers the freedom to be productive, which is what they really want.

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , ,

Increase Productivity and Concentration at Work

May 6, 2011 By

Most people are overwhelmed with distractions and interruptions at work. We spend our time and energy trying to concentrate, and lose our day to primarily unimportant tasks. This will be a constant battle in any office space, but here are some tips that can help increase your productivity and concentration.

Prioritize your day. Before checking e-mail or phone messages, start working on your more important tasks first. This ensures that your priority projects are accomplished while you are fresh and focused.  Only check your voice mail or e-mail once or twice a day, and keep your own messages short and direct. Don’t let low priority tasks interrupt you constantly throughout the day.

Use white noise. Today’s sound masking technology is very precise and floods the background with “white” noise that focused on the spectrum of human speech. Office-wide sound masking can lower distractions by up to 51 percent by covering the excess conversations and noise in an open floor plan. You can also try a personal sound machine, if you don’t have control over the sound quality in the office.

Limit distractions and interruptions. The average worker is interrupted more than 70 times each day. And most people suffer almost equally from self-distraction. Try establishing a “no-interruption” time of about an hour to focus on important tasks. Start by turning off all your self-distractions, like your phone and e-mail. Spend this time in focused concentration. Turn on a white noise machine to cover office noise. And post a sign indicating that you currently cannot be interrupted, and a time when you will next be available. You can repeat this focused time throughout the day to make the most of your time.

Improve your posture. Most people do not realize how much energy is wasted with poor posture. Good posture can boost productivity and energy. Start with a good, ergonomic chair and adjust it to properly fit you. First, adjust the height of the seat so that your feet are flat on the floor. Next, move the backrest on your chair to fit the curve of your spine. You should also add portable lumbar support if your chair does not fully support your lower back. Finally, move your arm rests low enough or out of the way while typing to allow free arm movement.

Making changes to your daily habits can increase your productivity and efficiency. Make an effort to maintaining good posture while sitting with a good, ergonomic chair that is well-adjusted to support your body. Also, upgrade your office space with sound masking technology, or try using a white noise machine block out the distracting conversations and office noise that interrupt your concentration. Better focus and productivity at work help you feel better about your work and enjoy less stress at the end of the day.

Filed Under: Business, Sound Masking Tagged With: , , , ,

Sound Masking for Conversational Distractions

May 3, 2011 By

Distracted

Did you know that the vast majority of your employees are distracted more than two hours every day?  Actually, 2 hours is the average.  It’s no wonder that they lose one-fourth of their work day when there’s time sucks out there like email, Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, Skype, texting, etc.  While it’s easy to point your finger at your workers, or even technology itself, it’s important to realize that these distarctions are only a small piece of the pie.  In fact, it’s due to technology like this that your company can function the way it can.  That’s not to say that all your employees’ use of time online is noble and for the sake of business, but on the other hand, cutting them off from this technology cuts your business, as well.

Conversational Distractions

If online distraction is only a part of the huge distraction level employees experience, what accounts for the larger part?  Interestingly, conversational distraction is what takes a huge bite out of productivity.  Co-worker chatter, water cooler gossip, loud sales guys, and the like dominate employee distraction.  It’s hard to tune out colleagues’ conversations and especially their conflicts.  Furthermore, most employees engage in quite a bit of their own distraction, but they are also victims to co-worker chatter even when they don’t want to be.  That’s what has led to workers reporting that all they want is distraction-free solo work time.  Time to be free of office noise and to get work done.  Far from being unreasonable, distraction-free solo work time seems like a pretty valid request.

How do you facilitate distraction-free solo work time?

Companies have gotten pretty creative, offering conference room time blocking slots even for individual work time or mandating “quiet” time in which all noise-producing tech stuff gets shut off.  In addition to corporate mandates, sound masking has risen as a viable option for noise reduction in general.  Like its name suggests, sound masking is white noise through office speakers in the ceiling tiles that is low-level but just structured enough to cover, or mask, unwanted, intrusive noise.  Workers with sound masked offices report less stress, fewer errors, better focus, and more productivity.

Thus, if office noise and its resulting distraction are a problem for your business, consider sound masking for more productivity.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , ,

Who Can Use Sound Masking?

April 21, 2011 By

The Need for Sound Masking

Last time we talked about office noise pollution and the need for sound masking.  Just by way of review, here is the bottom line of why office noise is such a serious problem.

There are a few answers, but they all come back to distraction.  We can all agree that noise is a distracting thing, whether it’s good or bad noise.  There’s a reason we don’t talk on the phone right outside baby’s room- noise is intrusive and can interrupt the natural flow of things.  Thus, on a very base level, noise is distracting.  Take that distraction to an office, especially an open office format, and you get distracted workers.  Distracted workers are prone to more errors and stress than focused workers.  That’s a fairly obvious conclusion because it’s not hard to imagine making mistakes when one ear is tuned in to the office soundtrack on stereo speakers.  They’re more stressed because, contrary to managerial belief, workers do not prefer to lose hours of productivity a day to distraction- in fact, many complain that regardless of the 9-5 clock, they still have projects and deadlines and therefore wind up taking work home evenings and weekends.  All of this contributes to what is called a disengaged worker, or a worker who has lost connection with his job.  Disengaged workers costs businesses (like yours!) billions of dollars a year due to 1) loss of productivity, 2) errors, 3) work-related stress/injuries, 4) sick days, and 5) turn-over.

Summing It Up

That’s quite a lot to process, but the upshot is that distraction costs…and it costs not only workers time, but also companies money.  As a result, distraction is a time- and a profit-suck.  And just when it seems that there is no solution other than to play the quiet game, sound masking enters on a white steed.  A little exaggerated maybe, but sound masking really is our knight in shining armor.  Compared to the cost of distraction, sound masking is a very inexpensive counter-measure against distraction, plus it’s virtually invisible because the speakers are mounted within the ceiling tiles themselves and have no maintenance requirements either.

Who Can Use Sound Masking?

All that sounds great, but you may be wondering where sound masking is actually effective?  Great question- sound masking systems, like the VoiceArrest, are highly effective for larger office areas, such as:

  • Office buildings
  • Medical facilities (doctor’s offices and hospitals)
  • Conference Rooms
  • Government & Military agencies
  • Real estate offices

For smaller areas, such as individual offices or even cubicles, sound masking can come in the form of a sound machine, too.  There are a variety of options, each designed to fit specific needs.

Sound masking comes in several forms, both larger systems like the VoiceArrest and sound machines for smaller areas.  Either way, sound masking is the most effective means of covering noise and distraction.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , ,

What’s All the Fuss About Sound Masking?

April 19, 2011 By

Indoor Noise Pollution

Noise pollution is becoming more and more of a problem, and not just in traffic jams surrounded by construction.  No, even offices are suffering from the stress and distraction of noise pollution.  The problem in the office is that there’s no relief in that you can’t just drive away.  On the contrary, you are constantly surrounded by it, from ringing phones to fax machines to water cooler gossip to nails on keyboards to heels on hard floors to co-worker conversation to slamming doors….The noise may not be as loud as construction crews, but being held captive by your work environment for 9 hours a day, 5 times a week can be just as debilitating.

Why?

There are a few answers, but they all come back to distraction.  We can all agree that noise is a distracting thing, whether it’s good or bad noise.  There’s a reason we don’t talk on the phone right outside baby’s room- noise is intrusive and can interrupt the natural flow of things.  Thus, on a very base level, noise is distracting.  Take that distraction to an office, especially an open office format, and you get distracted workers.  Distracted workers are prone to more errors and stress than focused workers.  That’s a fairly obvious conclusion because it’s not hard to imagine making mistakes when one ear is tuned in to the office soundtrack on stereo speakers.  They’re more stressed because, contrary to managerial belief, workers do not prefer to lose hours of productivity a day to distraction- in fact, many complain that regardless of the 9-5 clock, they still have projects and deadlines and therefore wind up taking work home evenings and weekends.  All of this contributes to what is called a disengaged worker, or a worker who has lost connection with his job.  Disengaged workers costs businesses (like yours!) billions of dollars a year due to 1) loss of productivity, 2) errors, 3) work-related stress/injuries, 4) sick days, and 5) turn-over.

The Value of Sound Masking

As a result, sound masking is an easy, virtually invisible way to enable workers to tune out most of the distraction around them by surrounding them with low-level background noise instead.  It’s kind of like being mid-flight and realizing that you can’t hear the conversations going on around you because of the engine noise.  The engine noise (quite a bit louder than the white noise sound masking would employ) is not a nuisance in and of itself, it’s just noisy enough to block other sounds around you.  So, too, sound masking covers, or masks, office noise so that it doesn’t become a billion-dollar distraction.

Distractions cost businesses billions of dollars every year.  Sound masking can redeem both the time and money lost as a result of disengaged, distracted workers.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , ,

The Problem with Office Noise {& How to Fix It!}

April 7, 2011 By

The Problem with Noise

Noise is part of working with people.  Plus, most offices are open, meaning there are dozens of cubicles, side-by-side that can’t help but be intrusive with regard to one another.  Interestingly, open office floor plans were designed to save money in that there were fewer resources used, with more workers in the same amount of space.  The problem is that cramming in more workers adds to the volume level which, in turn, increases the distraction level, which, of course, lessens productivity- and we all know what that means: less profit.  It’s a funny situation for sure.

On the flip side, distraction doesn’t just bother managers; most workers are fed up with it.  Surveyed employees report that all they want is distraction-free solo work time.  High noise levels not only break their concentration, they also add to their stress levels, as well as their error margins.  Essentially, a distracted worker is a disengaged worker, and disengaged workers feel less inclined to show up every day, adding to absenteeism and turn-over costs.  Finally, disengaged workers are less likely to make ergonomic adjustments to their work stations, much to their own detriment time- and health-wise.

So, what’s a boss to do?

The boss doesn’t like loss of productivity and increased costs, and workers just want to be left alone to get their work done.  A solution many businesses have turned to is sound masking, or the use of white noise as a low-level background noise to cover, or block, much more distracting noises.  It’s counter-intuitive, but uniform white noise actually does mask irritating, less consistent noise.  It’s the same principle as running the sink.  The sound of water flow in and of itself is neither lour, nor distracting.  However, when you do run it, the water renders the conversation outside the bathroom door unintelligible.  That’s an example of white noise.

In the work place, you don’t have to install sinks every few cubicles {which is good thing since you’re not trying to encourage extra bathroom breaks}.  But you can use in-ceiling speakers to provide white noise and even a paging/music system to cover the noise that is detrimental to everyone.

Distractions cost businesses $600 billion a year.  Sound masking is a fraction of the amount of money your business loses and not only reduces distractions, but also stress levels and errors.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , ,

Common Office Noise Problems

April 5, 2011 By

Office Space

If you’ve ever seen Office Space, you are well aware that they typical office has a host of problems ranging from unmotivated workers to redundant work to irritating co-workers.  Even though it seems far-fetched at times, there’s a reason we all laugh when we see that movie- it’s a little too familiar for most of us.  Maybe you don’t have to count your pieces of flare or fill out 8 TPS reports, but you are familiar with co-worker rants, mal-functioning equipment, and annoying office gossip and conversations.

Office Distractions

In fact, office noise is a real problem, from both the worker’s perspective, as well as from the manager’s.  Workers find it irritating, distracting, and attention-sucking, while managers realize just how much the bottom line can be affected.  An estimated $500-$600 billion are lost every year as a result of distraction, a large contributor being conversational distractions.  Interestingly, workers admit that they are less distracted by equipment noise (typing,machines running, cell phones buzzing) than they are by unexpected chatter.  It’s a logical finding- whirring machinery and clickety-clackety typing is a function of the typical office and is therefore predictable.  Predictable sounds are easier to tune out or ignore all together.  On the other hand, sporadic voices, exotic cell phone ring tones, and intermittent conversations are unpredictable and thus much harder to ignore.

Sound Masking

This is where sound masking comes in.  An alternative to your employees missing work {and not really “missing it”}, sound masking is the use of low-level background noise through speakers in the ceiling tiles so that workers can treat conversational distractions like equipment distractions- easy to tune out and ignore.  Again, this would be beneficial for both sides, workers and managers alike.  Workers would experience a happier, less stressful work environment, while managers can look forward to more productivity and fewer dollars lost to distraction.

It’s a fact that workers are distracted at work.  Sound masking to reduce the effects of conversational distractions is a happy solution for workers and managers alike.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »