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Sound Masking: The Solution to Office Noise

March 28, 2011 By

The average worker loses about two hours of work each day due to interruptions and distractions. Especially in the open office, employees are exposed to dozens of conversations each day that may or may not have anything to do with their current task. So much energy is spent trying to tune out everything going on around them. They have also lost all privacy for their conversations, whether in person or on the phone, adding to their feelings of stress and being undervalued.

How to control sound

Sound issues in any space can be treated in three main ways:  absorbing, blocking and covering sound. These are known as the ABC’s of noise control. These three, used in combination, provide the best solution to noise issues in an office environment. Sound is best absorbed through the use of appropriate ceiling tiles, and it is blocked by proper office panels between cubicles and offices.  However, very few offices utilize the third treatment, covering or masking sound.

What is Sound Masking?

Most offices already utilize the first two treatments, but sound masking, the most effective of the three, is often overlooked. Sound masking is the technique of adding barely noticeable background sounds to cover the intrusive noises all around us. Today’s sound masking technology floods the background with specific “white” noise focused on the spectrum of human speech. This precision of white noise will effectively cover conversations in an office setting, returning privacy to the open floor. Proper sound masking, or covering, has been shown to lower distractions by up to 51% and reduce stress by 27%, both of which contribute to employee satisfaction and productivity.

Does it really Work?

Yes. The correct use of white noise really does mask conversations and other noises that interrupt you throughout the day. This technology is used in government offices, medical facilities and many other businesses because of its effectiveness. The result is that private conversations are not overheard, and office noise is not longer a huge distraction for workers. And the best part is that this technology is now affordable to smaller businesses as well.

Most employees are interrupted several times a day by conversations and noise that does not directly involve them. In addition to sound-absorbent, ceiling tiles and sound-blocking cubicle panels, sound masking is an effective and affordable way to control sound in the work place. It covers distracting noise increasing concentrate, lowers stress levels, and returns a level of speech privacy to the open office plan.

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Why Your Employees Need Ergonomic Desks

March 3, 2011 By

Ergonomic desks are more than a luxury, they are essential for worker productivity and even health.

Distracted & Interrupted Workers

We’ve often noted how distracted workers are as a result of office noise.  However, while office noise is a legitimately huge part of the problem, so are general interruptions. All workers are interrupted both internally and externally, from random thoughts flitting in and out of their minds to co-workers asking for docs or even the need to reply to an email.  Interestingly, it has been noted that the context of the work environment simply changes when distraction and interruptions arrive, further disrupting a workers’ focus.  This makes sense- if you think about replying to an email, you often have to juggle papers to find the information you need.  So, once you’ve replied to the email, it takes even more time to get back on track as you shuffle around your rifled papers just to get going again.  While each worker must find and maintain a good system, a great ergonomic desk with the right set-up can only help productivity.

Health & Ergonomic Concerns

Besides needing places for their stuff, workers also need a desk that allows them to place their equipment ergonomically so as to avoid work-related injuries and maladies, such as headaches, eye strain, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and back or shoulder pain.  Some good rules of thumb are to have a desk that allows the monitor to be raised and the keyboard and mouse to sit side-by-side and preferably on a keyboard tray.  All computer workers should take stretch breaks for their bodies, as well as their eyes, to avoid general strain and eye strain.

Advantages of an Ergonomic Desk

An ergonomic desks is designed so that we can have all our essential items/gadgets/electronics within easy reach so that we don’t over-extend and inflict pain on ourselves.  Plus, many ergonomic desks are adjustable so that they fit our own statures and even preferences.   Many also offer keyboard trays which allow for a surface separate from the main work surface on which to type and mouse.  lastly, ergo desks are great for maximizing space in that many are compact and some ever offer standing options (great for collaborative, face-to-face work, as well as a good back stretch).

Popular Ergo Desks

  • Sit or Stand Work Station

    HiLo Ergo Work Station- ideal for a small office or home office and for housing the basics.  Comes with a keyboard tray for ergonomic typing.

  • The Smart Desk- better if you have a little more horizontal space, houses computer, monitor, and keyboard all in easy reach and also has 2 work surfaces, one of which is adjustable.
  • 1StepOne Desk- This has all the bells and whistles adjustment-wise and even has a model for corner tables.  Great for variational needs.
  • Sit or Stand- This is a great deal for such an adjustable desk!  The option to sit or stand in a compact package!  Ideal for any location and for those who prefer change, or to stretch their backs but keep working.
  • Z Ergonomic Work Center- another compact design with an adjustable keyboard tray.  Great for small areas.

With so many ergonomic desks available, it’s easy to find one that suits your office’s work needs so your employees can be as focused and productive as possible.

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Distracted at Work {Help!}

February 15, 2011 By

Distracted at Work

I’m supposed to be working.  I have been sitting here, thinking about how I should be working for about an hour and a half.  I’m not kidding.  Let me lay it out there for you- I’m on a computer, so there’s endless distractions there: email, Facebook, add a few status updates myself, fix a blog post I wrote for today, go ahead and link it up to Facebook and a few other sites, peruse those sites to see who else is on, check email again, open link my sister-in-law sent me for what to get my kids for their birthdays, get absorbed in that site because, let’s be honest, shopping for re-usable, laminate, retro snack bags is a whole lot more fun than working, remember that I should be working, try to focus, stare out window instead due to passery-by who are fairly loud and break my minute of concentration, shake off street noise, only to hear my son wake prematurely from his nap, restrategize about his sleeping situation, remember I am supposed to be working, try to focus again….

I’m Not the Only One!

You probably deduced that I work from home.  And it’s easy to assume that being at home is the culprit here.  And I suppose in many ways you’re right.  I wouldn’t bring my 2 year old son to the office with me, but everything else would be the same, wouldn’t it?  Internet distractions and outside noise?  And, though my kid may not be with me, you can bet my cell phone is and that I would be checking for messages about him constantly.

No, the main culprit is distraction itself.  We’re all distracted- no matter where we work.  We’re all distracted because we live in a tech-driven, busy, not to mention, loud world.  So, just how distracted are we?  Well, studies show that the average worker is distracted more than 2 hours every day….and that’s just at work.  Since we’re supposed to be working from 9-5, 2 hours is a pretty big chunk of time to lose, don’t you think?

How Can Anyone Avoid Distraction?

You may be thinking that it’s impossible to avoid this level of distraction since it must be internet issues, and no work palce can function without it.  Interestingly, it’s not the internet, etc. that is reported as the main distraction- in fact, it’s usually conversational distraction that plays the largest role.  Whether intentionally partaking in work place conversations or just being privy to them, most workers are victims of the toll it takes.

This is where sound masking comes in.  Our knight in shining armor, sound masking is the use of white noise to cover the unwanted noise of a busy work place.  Hardly noticeable itself, sound masking is an easy solution that is pretty affordable and makes no aesthetic or architectural change to the office.

Just remember, distraction costs you time and money.  Plug the leak with sound masking.

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Reduce Stress and Boost Productivity with Sound Masking

February 7, 2011 By

Did you know that the average worker loses two hours of productive work each day due to distractions in the office? There are constant conversations buzzing around them – the person in the next cubical is on the phone; the water cooler talk is almost always present; and the discussion between two co-workers in the hall is louder than they realize. Even at their most productive times, they are wasting energy and time trying not to hear all the noise around them. Businesses around the country are installing office-wide sound masking systems to increase privacy and productivity among their employees.

What is sound masking?

Sound masking seeks to “mask” unnecessary sounds with the use of white noise. White noise is sound, or noise, created from all the frequencies in the audible spectrum; it is named after white light which is created from all the colors in the visible spectrum. With today’s technology, white noise is specifically focused on the specifically on the frequency range of human speech.

The first question that comes to mind is how adding noise helps people concentrate better. A great illustration is a flash light in a dark room. Imagine you are in a dark room and someone across the room is randomly blinking a flashlight at you. The flashlight is very distracting and even irritating. But what happens if you turn on the overhead lights? Now you hardly notice the flashlight; the overhead lights have covered, or masked, the smaller light of the flashlight.

Sound masking works on a similar principle. By adding general white noise, similar to the gentle “whooshing” sound of a fan or an AC unit, you hardly notice the distracting sounds around you.

Why use sound masking?

This technology is used all over the U.S. to improve privacy and productivity – at government agencies, medical facilities and standard office buildings. Sound masking has incredible advantages for any office setting, and especially in open floor plans with cubicles. Here are some of the top benefits:

  • 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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Recovering Lost {Business} Time

December 20, 2010 By

Loss of Time in Businesses

What do you think are some of the biggest losses of time in both large and small businesses?  Internet?  Attending to personal matters?  Coffee breaks?  Interestingly, those are not the biggest time sucks in offices.  Actually it’s office noise in general that takes minds off work.  This can include office gossip, loud, intermittent beeping machines, sales calls, ringing phones, etc.

Sound Masking

Sound masking, or coverage, is the most effective tool in treating noise.

Such noises are part and parcel to working in a multi-person office.  It’s inevitable.  The combination of so many workers and adjacent cubicles with low walls prove to be a nightmare for good acoustics because it contributes to an ever-increasing level of office noise in a decreasing amount of space.  The solution is sound masking, the treatment of noise by absorbing, blocking, or covering it.  Usually a combination of all three is most effective, but it is coverage that is most effective in conjunction with others or even on its own.  Coverage is the use of white noise to help the brain tune out distracting sounds, thus keeping it focused on work.

You can use a sound machine for each worker, but the most helpful speech privacy system like the VoiceArrest.  This type of system is mounted directly in the ceiling tiles and provides uniform, consistent coverage that covers noise and even increases privacy levels.

In sum, sound masking works by reducing background sounds. Speech privacy systems, on the other hand, prevent conversations from becoming background sounds in the first place. Either of these will save any company money.

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2 Distraction Aids: Time Blocking & White Noise Machines

September 14, 2010 By

The cost of distractions

As a manager, you know that distractions have a cost.  Usually it’s loss of focus/productivity, and therefore money.  A distracted worker is a disengaged worker.  Disengaged workers lose their sense of ownership in a project or task and also make more mistakes.  They usually suffer more stress and even miss work more frequently.  Sadly, disengaged workers also turn over faster, and training their replacements  is costly.  Add it all up and it’s a rather large price tag: $600 billion.  That’s right, distractions cost businesses hundreds of billion of dollars every year.

2 Tips for Avoiding Distraction at Work

To regain your workers’ attention and focus, it’s smart to enable them to have distraction-free solo work.  For many, time blocking allows for this.

  1. Time Block.  The basic idea is to cut away from all the turmoil in your office and devote a specific block of time to working on a project.  You set a start and stop time and during that period you focus on your work.  This means you shut down any unnecessary electronics and anything that rings.  You can do it, I promise.  With fewer (or no) distractions, you should be able to make some progress.

However, not all offices offer conference rooms for regular work, nor do they have enough rooms to house every distracted worker.  Another effective time-saver and productivity-booster is the use of a white noise machine.

  1. White noise machines.  By using white noise, you cover office distractions.  With a simple desktop generator, you can block out office noise and get to work because your mind is more focused.  You can hold a thought long enough to process it, and you aren’t drawn into unnecessary chatter.

Half the battle of reclaiming lost time at work is having a game plan.  By time blocking and covering noise, you allow your workers’ brains much needed-time to process and recalibrate.

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Sound Machines for Work

September 7, 2010 By

Distracted at Work

Most distractions at work are annoying...and they all cost something.

Regardless of the time of year or the weather outside or the deadlines looming, most workers find themselves distracted more than 2 hours every day.  A 2-hour loss of productivity is quite a hit in this economy where every minute counts.  It’s essential that we keep our minds on task and our heads out of the clouds.

If you ask the average worker what distracts him or her, you’d get a variety of answers, most of which are external distractions (meaning not their own fault).  In fact, surveyed workers say that all they want is a chance to do distraction-free solo work, work that doesn’t get constantly interrupted by seemingly unnecessary meetings or office chatter.

Sound Machine (aka white noise machine)

A simple, inexpensive solution for distraction is use of a sound machine.  Sound machines have many advantages and few disadvantages.  Sound machines come in a variety of shapes and sizes and offer a host of features that are usually adjustable for individual users.

How does white noise work?

Sound machines use white noise to help the brain tune out unwanted noises.  The result is two-fold: The brain is literally tricked into not perceiving various noises.  By not hearing or processing distracting sounds, the worker stays on track and disciplines his or her mind not to wander.

The cool thing is that while they help you get past intrusive noises, the white noise machine itself isn’t so loud that it issues a equally disturbing noise.  In fact, the worker in the cubicle next door is usually fairly oblivious to it even being turned on.  Plus, the user can choose what type of white noise to use from a myriad of nature sounds or a gentle hum like that of an HVAC system.

Why Go with Individual Machines?

White noise machines are much more efficient than headphones for covering office noise.  White noise usually keeps the mind focuses, whereas listening to music may end up becoming way more of a distraction that the office noise.  On the other extreme, while many businesses opt for office-wide sound masking, sometimes they find it prudent to treat small offices or individual cubicles with white noise machines instead.  This way, only some areas are treated, which might be all that is needed.

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Sound Masking & Time Blocking

August 24, 2010 By

Are your employees disengaged?

Do your employees struggle to stay focused or to meet deadlines?  Most workers are distracted more than 2 hours every day.  It could be co-worker chatter, phone calls, constant computer correspondence, and the list goes on forever.  Regardless of the cause, most workers feel frustrated by the end of the day, having accomplished little on their to-do list, knowing that tomorrow will likely be no better.  For some, it’s a monotonous cycle of chasing a seemingly elusive goal or deadline, while for others, it means extra nights and weekends and less time with family and friends.  You can see the problem.

2 Tips for Increasing Focus and Productivity

Part of increasing productivity is making the office more work-friendly.  Here are 2 easy ways to do just that.

  • It's important for workers to feel like they have time to work and not to be distracted.

    Time Blocking.  Some go-getter, self-motivated employees will do this for themselves, but most will simply get caught in the rut of feeling unproductive and therefore living a self-fulfilling prophecy.  You should encourage time blocking for your staff.  Whether it’s an office-wide plan or open to individualization, allow your employees the opportunity to set certain boundaries on when they’re going to work on what.  For instance, it may be that the first hour of the day is spent checking and prioritizing emails and messages.  Then, the next 2 hours are spent isolated in a conference room for a specific project.  Or, it could be that certain teams need to meet at a mutually agreed upon time and they set up in a private room.  Whatever the routine is, every employee needs to know that he or she will have time to get to their actual work.

  • Sound Masking.  It’s one of those counter-intuitive things, kind of like children sleeping well at night often makes them more likely to sleep well during the day. Similarly, adding noise to a noisy office actually helps your brain focus.  By adding soft unstructured noise to the office, the brain is able to focus on that consistent noise instead of the millions of diverse, and therefore distracting, sounds surrounding them.  The result is more engaged, productive workers.

Regardless of the economy, workers are distracted.  So, in these tough times, loss of productivity hurts even more. Enable your workers to get focused by allowing them freedom to schedule out blocks of time and by decreasing office noise.

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You Don’t Know if You Don’t Ask

August 16, 2010 By

Any boss that is even halfway decent wants their workers to be able to work to their full potential and desires to help them reach that potential through any available means. Not only is that good for the people in the company, its also good for the company’s bottom line. People working to their full potential are not only more productive, but also happier and less likely to look elsewhere for work. Have you ever wondered how to help your employees in this area? What is keeping your workers from being more productive? Have you ever asked them? You won’t know if you don’t ask.

Instead of hiring a company masseuse, a few effective ergonomic adjustments could be made. (Although a masseuse would be nice....)

Some common reasons for lack of productivity are  distractions. In fact, studies have shown that distractions cause up to 2 hours a day of lost productivity which costs  companies $759 billion a year. So, one of the ways that would (hopefully) make a noticeable difference is to cut down on those distractions.

Ask your workers what is distracting them and then think of ways to help them overcome those. Is office noise and conversations constantly breaking their train of thought? Installing sound masking could help with that. Are constant emails and new email notifications a problem? Some software that minimizes that would help. Perhaps by the end of the day your employees shoulders and wrists are aching from sitting in front of the computer all day. A few ergonomic adjustments could go a long way in solving that and allowing them to focus on their working instead of tight muscles.

You won’t know how to implement effective solutions unless you know what the problem is. So, go ahead, ask your employees how you can help them work better and with less stress.

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Lend me your ear

March 8, 2010 By

Office Noise- it's a love/hate relationship for most.

Have you ever really listened to all the noise that takes place in your office?

Some of your employees can work through that no problem, like your sales guys, for instance- they were born to multitask, God love ‘em. However, your writers and editors cannot- each clickety-clack, ring, and new conversation distracts them from their detailed work. It’s not their fault- certain types of work require intense concentration.

The above example was actually pretty low-level background noise- you and I both know that most offices can and do escalate more than that. The problem here was that it was inconsistent- it lacked uniformity. Each different, distinct noise presented a new distraction. Surprisingly, though, low-level background noise is not such a bad thing if used correctly. In fact, many workers use white noise to provide a consistent, uniform hum to cover all the little inconsistent, irritating sounds so prevalent in an open office (like above). Similarly, a good number of companies and entities have employed sound masking units to provide uniform coverage for entire offices. The result has been increased productivity and less distracted (read that happier and less stressed) workers.

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