You are here: Home / Archives for white noise

How Environment Affects Work

October 23, 2010 By

As an office manager or person in charge, you want your workers to be at their best and to be productive through out the day. If you were able to make a few changes to increase productivity and worker satisfaction would you do it? Of course you would. The following are a few ways to tweak the work environment to make it more conducive to working for everyone.

While all the windows are great, these workers proximity to each other can make working a challenge.

  • The temperature – Too hot and you have people falling asleep and getting cranky (not to mention smelly!). Too cold and it gets difficult to move your fingers properly when typing and can make it hard to focus. Finding a happy medium might be difficult, but as long as the temps are not one extreme or another, people can adapt by bringing a sweater to work or wearing a short sleeved shirt.
  • The quality of light — Is the office dim? Is there adequate task lighting at each desk so people are not struggling to read?
  • Proximity to others — It is easier to concentrate if each person has their own space to work in. However, its not usually possible to give everyone their own individual office. Is is possible to arrange the desks so that people are not too close to each other? Perhaps line the desks up around the room so their backs are to each other while working or install some partitions to divide up the space.
  • Noise level — Its hard to concentrate in a noisy environment. It can also affect customer service because of it being difficult to hear people on the phone. Not to mention that if everyone is talking to each other, that probably means that not a whole lot of work is getting done. Sound masking is an effective solution to this problem. The white noise allows the brain to tune out all of the other conversational distractions and thus makes one less likely to join in a conversation that they can’t clearly hear.
  • Air quality — If the quality of the air is poor in the building you are in for some reason it can actually make people sick, which means loss of productivity. Ask someone to check the building’s air filter and then go from there to figure out the reason for the air pollution.
  • The environment of the work place — This category includes the color of the office, how furniture is arranged, how many windows there are, etc. While you may not be able to tear down walls and add windows, you can think about how things are being used and then adjust accordingly. For instance, if most of the people needing the copy machine are on one side of the building and the copy machine is on the opposite side, it might be a better use of space to move the copy machine closer to where it is needed. Another consideration is the color of the walls — cool colors (blues and greens) tend to be calming and soothing colors and warmer colors (oranges and reds) tend to be exciting colors. Perhaps you could check with a professional decorator for some tips on the color of the office environment.

Are there any changes that you can think of that might help your workforce?

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

Using noise to combat noise

October 7, 2010 By

What’s the point of adding noise to an already loud office?

A common question about white noise and sound masking in general is how adding noise to a noisy place actually helps?  This is one of those paradoxical concepts that is frequently misunderstood.  Here goes…sound masking is the introduction of low-level sound so that the brain can tune out other, louder, more distracting noises, like the general atmosphere of your typical office.

How does it really work?

Think of  how all the conversations and crying babies in an airplane fade away as soon as the engines start.  You can still hear what’s going on right next to you, but you can’t actually hear all the other conversations unless you physically move.  In the same vein, adding white noise to an office allows your brain to tune out distracting noises.  Here’s the difference- unlike an airplane, the white noise itself is not horribly loud itself.  It is low-level and covers the sound spectrum so that your brain can tune out what’s going on while still being attentive to what’s directly around it (your own phone, for instance).

Using White Noise in an Office

There are two main ways to use white noise in an office:

  1. Sound Machines.  Sound machines are usually individual solutions and vary in features.  They can provide your basic white noise (a gentle hum) or a myriad of nature or soothing sounds.  Many have extra features, as well, such as portability, backlit clocks and alarm clocks, jet lag reduction sound, sleep aides, etc.
  2. Sound Masking Systems.  Masking systems are more of an office-wide solution in that speakers are mounted directly in ceiling tiles and emit the same low-level white noise.  It’s up to you how much square footage you want to treat and if you’d like a music and/or paging system to boot.  The important thing to remember is to get a high-quality, uniform, direct-field technology-based system for maximum effectiveness.

Either way you go, just by adding a little noise you decrease the effect of noise, which increases focus and productivity.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , ,

Maximizing Productivity

September 28, 2010 By

Increasing productivity is a hot topic these days.  Since no one can magically make their work day longer (and who really wants to spend more time in the office anyway?!), every man and woman is trying to get more out of their 8 or 9 hours at work.  From cubicle dweller to office manager, maximizing productivity is a matter of survival.

Tips for Increasing Productivity

  • Try white noise, like this free white noise generator.  It’s a fact that office noise kills productivity, so covering it is your only defense sometimes.
  • Re-work your work space.  This is a multi-faceted.  First, clear away the clutter.  Throw away trash and file your papers.  Next, move all essential items so that they are within arm’s reach.  You want to avoid straining your arms, shoulders, wrists, and hands.  Finally, move your mouse in to be directly next to your keyboard. Your goal is to avoid straining yourself as you reach for your mouse, and you also want to be more productive-unnecessary reaching is a loss of time.
  • Consider upgrading to an ergonomic keyboard for efficiency. You might consider a left-handed keyboard or mini keyboard.  Both keyboards fit your wrists/hands better and move the number pad for faster typing.  The result is more efficient use.
  • Similarly, why not try an ergonomic mouse? Fingers can get tired after a ton of touch pad mousing.  Ergonomic mice are wonderful for customizing the work experience to your own needs.  When your mouse fits your hand, and as a result, your hand isn’t exhausted at the end of the day, you cant help but be more productive.
Just by re-working your desktop and trying a few new products, you can easily be more productive and get more out of your work day.
Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , ,

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.

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

3 Uses of White Noise in the Office

September 1, 2010 By

Distracted at Work

Do you struggle with distraction at work?  Chances are you do.  In fact, most people are distracted more than 2 hours every day.  What could you do with 2 more hours every day?  Now, what could your business do with 2 more hours per employee??

3 Uses of White Noise in the Office

How do you regain lost time in the office?  Well, you can’t ban cell phones and texting, but you can take control of all the noise heard round the office.  Rather than try to control noise, why not moderate it?  With white noise, you actually add noise to tune out noise.  By adding low-level unstructured noise from all over the sound spectrum, you allow your brain to tune out potentially distracting sounds and focus in on work.  Here are 3 common uses of white noise.

  • An emitter, or speaker, for a sound masking system

    Free White Noise Generator: a free online generator that can be customized by the user.

  • Sonet Sound System: A great individual solution for noise that is even and effective and doesn’t require any specialized knowledge.
  • Sound Masking: The best office-wide sound solution with invisible uniform distribution through speakers in the ceiling tiles.

Choosing which form of white noise to implement is largely dependent upon how large a group you need coverage for.  Ideally, every office would install sound masking, thus protecting the time of every employee.  However, not all businesses have a budget to cover that and some companies have opted for individual systems, such as the Sonet.  The main difference is how much space is treated.  It’s up to you to decide what your company needs and how valuable your time is.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , ,

Sound Masking: Covering Noise and Even Reducing It

August 12, 2010 By

We recently interviewed Nick Barber from Sigma Relocation about his experience with sound masking in his call center. His business has benefited from it greatly. He mentioned a positive change  that occurred during the course of the interview that I found interesting because I hadn’t thought about it before. Perhaps you haven’t either.

Nick noticed that his employees were not socializing as much during working hours. Because conversations could not be heard more than 10 to 15 feet away (unlike before, when they could be heard all the way across the 4500 square foot call center), people were not getting into so many conversations, and were consequently experiencing less distraction and able to work more. Nick had several employees tell him they feel they are now more focused and efficient during the work day. “I think we’re covering up the noise that’s there, but I think there’s less noise to begin with because people aren’t talking quite as much.”

So not only does white noise reduce distraction by taking away a lot of the common things that distract people, but it also lowered the overall volume of the call center because people were not talking and interacting as much since they were working. People working more with less distraction? Sounds like sound masking was effective here.

Could you use sound masking in your space to help your employees focus and work better?

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

Using Brand Spaces to Promote Your Company

August 5, 2010 By

My family just moved overseas, and we had a three hour layover in Amsterdam’s Schipol airport exactly during my children’s nap time. I had heard that there was a great lounge for kids in the airport from some other travelers, so my husband and I set out to find it.  We were so pleased with what we discovered. Nutricia (a baby food company) had sponsored this lounge. It was wonderfully designed and so appreciated in the midst of our travels. There was no blatant advertising anywhere. Just a few small signs saying “Baby Care Lounge by Nutricia.” Not only did it offer six cribs for weary little travelers, but also a place for bathing, changing, and heating up baby’s food. The only thing that could have made it any better was some sound masking to cover up the noises the other families were making. Even without blatant advertising, I can tell you that I would be more likely to buy this brand of baby food because of the great place they offered us in the airport those few hours.

Another experience I had with an effective brand space was a mother’s lounge in Tesco Supermarkets. They offered a private place to feed baby, a selection of their brand of diapers for changing the baby, and some other activities for a toddler to do while mommy is feeding the baby. I will admit to going back to that store numerous times in part because of that one room in their store.

Is there some way you could utilize a brand space to promote your company or product? It doesn’t have to be child- related to be effective. The examples I mentioned above are empathetic brand spaces–spaces used to help a person out. Some other types are brand spaces used for trying things out or for learning things. The one that comes to mind first for me are Apple Stores. Not only are you able to hold and use all their gadgets in the stores, they also offer free workshops about their products and how to utilize them in their customer’s lives.

Think about how you and your company are uniquely capable of helping people and create an experience based on that. It’s very effective advertising, and you know word travels!

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

Lord of the Loud Mouths: Office Noise

August 3, 2010 By

I found the following excerpt from The Sunday Times and was fairly amused.

What lengths would you go to to deal with office noise?

I work in an open-plan office which is shared by several disparate teams. What the team on the other side of my partition actually do[es] I know not, other than that it appears to be something hilarious as their conversations are frequently punctuated by loud laughter that reverberates around the entire floorplace. I’ve tried looking daggers at them whenever a particularly noisy guffaw interrupts my train of concentration, but I am tempted to ask of them: “If there’s a joke, let’s all share it!” Can you suggest an alternative approach?
Louisa Radice, Exeter

Stunning Stentor! Lord of the loud-mouths. Red ear-plugs, as worn by tractor drivers? Wax from the chemist? To work in open-plan one has to cultivate an invisible carapace that cuts out extraneous noise. It is the job of the manager to cut out stentorian uproar that distracts others from their work. For Puck’s sake do not look daggers. You will make your neighbours laugh louder, and get yourself a reputation as a spoilsport and a prude.

I have to agree.  While the complaint is noteworthy, the response is dead-on: It is the job of the manager to cut out stentorian uproar that distracts others from their work.

Attention, all managers!

Did you know that your employees look to you to solve office noise issues?  The average employee loses more than 2 hours every day because of distractions like the one described above.  Interestingly, most employees do not appreciate this loss.  Your job is to keep your workers focused- not by micro-managing, but through reasonable means, such as sound masking.  Sound masking is the use of white noise to help your employees tune out irritating distracting noises so they can focus on their work.  Many sound masking systems can be installed directly in the ceiling tiles themselves, so while highly effective, they are practically invisible.

Distractions cost businesses over $500 billion every year, possibly as much as $700 billion.  What do you want to bet your company has a piece of that?


Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , ,

Ergonomic Solutions for Increased Productivity

June 22, 2010 By

Office Morale

Regardless of the solstice, summer is upon us full-force.  More than ever, workers are distracted.  Whether it’s longing looks out the window or distracting co-workers, most people are not firing on all cylinders these days.  Rather than get frustrated about it, micro-manage them to death, or worst of all ignore the problem completely, why not be creative in your problem-solving?

There are actually a variety of reasons your employees are not working to their full potential- let’s look a few common office hindrances.

Common Office Hindrances

  • Annoying co-workers and office noise in general
  • Repetitive Stress Injuries, such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  • Ill-fitting desks and chairs
  • Disorganized work stations
  • Back, shoulder, and neck pain

While office noise is quite obvious in most cases, most of the rest of these problems are largely unnoticed until it’s too late.  Thus, valuable hours of productivity are lost every day, and no one seems to know why.  I’d like to offer a few solutions, ergonomic and otherwise.

Ergonomic (& Other) Solutions

  • Good ergonomic posture: monitor is eye level, back and feet are supported, arms are neutrally positioned.

    Install a sound masking system.  The use of low-level white noise will cover intrusive noise, thus allowing each worker the freedom to do “distraction-free solo work.”

  • Do a quick ergonomic refresher, reminding workers how important it is to take care of themselves.  Points to be emphasized: never over-extending to reach and neutral body positioning, especially for backs, necks, shoulder, arms, and wrists.
  • Encourage workers to adjust their chairs and desks for a better, more comfortable fit.  Raising or lowering arm rests can help workers keep their arms and wrists in line, as well as enable workers to sit more comfortably and relieve pressure on their backs, etc.
  • Institute a Friday afternoon “Re-Org” hour from 4-5pm.  No one works well at 4pm on a Friday.  Why not allow your employees the freedom to get their desks reorganized and all their ducks in a  row for next week?

Many times, just changing their habits will keep employees in better shape and therefore more productive.  As for management, it might be time to consider office-wide solutions, such as sound masking and better ergonomic products (adjustable chairs and/or desks, ergonomic keyboards and mice, etc.).

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , ,

Sound Masking for Child Care Centers

May 21, 2010 By

Choosing a day care has become quite a process these days. Parents often agonize about which day care would be the best for their child. Even after they decide which day care is best, entry is often competitive for the best ones. Parents just want to make sure their child has all the best opportunities available and the best care possible while away from home. After all, the child does stay there for 40 hours a week. In addition to stimulating and learning opportunities, they still need food, diapers changed, and naps. You can offer the best organic nutritional food, chemical free and earth friendly diapers and wipes, but what about napping? Is there a way to help ensure that each child is able to nap well and when they need to? After all, a well rested child is a happy child. And a happy child makes for happy parents.

I would suggest to you that sound masking could help in the realm of keeping sleeping children asleep. You can offer comfy (and safe!) cribs, and a dark room, but if there is lots of little noises from other children who are also sleeping (or maybe not sleeping), or even from other kids that are still awake and playing in the other room, then it makes sleeping and staying asleep difficult for little ones. Effective use of sound masking can help to reduce background noise and mask over the variable noises in the room (which so often is what awakes a sleeping baby) to give little Aiden or Isabelle the best chance possible to sleep for as long as they need to. I know not only from experience (since I have used white noise/sound masking for both of my children), but experts also recommend it. Give it a try and see if it increases the number of well rested and happy children in your center.

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