Office Noise Can Create Stress And Have Negative Impact

Imagine a workday when you have an important report to prepare on the last quarter's sales and on the customer preferences gauged by the sales pipeline. You'll probably try to get to the office earlier than usual, given the gravity of the situation. Now imagine trying to produce that report while a colleague who sits next to you prattles on about the weird guy she dated last weekend. You surely won't want to be disturbed with such useless oddities of everyday life on a busy day.

Work-related noise pollution can result from multiple causes but no matter where it originates, noise lessens your ability to work effectively. Also, noise pollution makes you stressed and can result in depression and other problems.

Having said that, though, a majority of employees have to deal with office noise sooner or later. Often, this noise presents itself in the form of chattering colleagues, who are discussing almost everything except work related issues. If you're in this situation, and you'd like to extract yourself from it, the best approach is to be sympathetic but direct, and to inform them that their discussions are distracting you from your job. Often, your colleagues will apologize and relocate their conversation.

In the event that a fax machine or printer at your place of work is too noisy, make a request with the IT department that they seek the cause of the noise. It is possible that the device is simply broken, as most office equipment manufacturers spend a ton of money to make their products quiet. Hence, the noise can usually be lessened or removed completely if it is serviced regularly by a person with the proper qualifications.

Lots of offices are plagued with noises that come from the coffee machine. While the machine is there to provide convenient drinks, it can also provide high levels of background noise, which can distract a person from performing assigned tasks. If this is the case in your office, consider bringing the issue up with a supervisor or a colleague.

A noisy office does no good, regardless of the source of the noise. As such, there are many low-cost noise control methods for most offices. Sound absorbent panels and higher cubicle walls can help cut down on how far office noise - whether from human or mechanical sources - spreads. The huddle rooms and cafeteria are located at corners, away from the place where workers sit. And one of the most effective solutions is to cover the noise with comfortable, low-level noise, often referred to as "white noise" or "sound masking." This is best done in the initial design phase, but newer systems are easily able to be retrofitted into most office spaces. The key, of course, is to do something to control the noise in your workspace.

Office noise interferes with employee productivity. In addition, it may trigger stress in employees, possibly even snowballing into more debilitating illnesses, including depression. It is difficult to work in a noisy office, no matter how the noise originates. There are numerous inexpensive sound masking systems available for the majority of offices. Panels that absorb sound and extra-tall cubicle walls are useful in reducing noise are some of the commonly used masking tools. The most appropriate time to think about introducing masking technologies is during the office design, but modern systems can be retrofitted into most work areas with relative ease.

- Frank Barnett