SOLUTIONS TO YOUR WORKPLACE ACOUSTIC PROBLEMS

If you’ve worked in an office setting, you’ll be aware how distracting certain environments can be. Sound acoustics can play a massive part in this.

With a poor acoustic set-up, an office space can become less productive, reduce privacy and just generally be a stressful place to work.

Here we offer solutions to three common workplace sound problems.

Problem No1:

My office has an open workspace – my employees see each other, talk to each other, hear each other’s phone calls. It’s so distracting! What do we do?

Privacy is key here. If employees are constantly hearing and seeing each other, it decreases the notion that they are responsible for their own noise.

Adding panels, or cubicles, can help reduce workplace noise and create better acoustics – but your choices are important. Having high panels gives the impression of an office that insulates noise (even though it actually doesn’t), while lower or glass panels provide privacy to separate space and naturally encourages individuals to ‘keep it down a bit’.

PET felt is a good option here as they are sound-absorbing panels designed specifically to soak up extra noise.

Problem No2:

My office has lots of noise from people in the open office space and even seems to echo in our conference room. How do we fix that?

Concrete, glass and painted sheetrock all reflect the day-to-day sounds created by employees – phone calls, desk drawers opening, conversations, typing on keyboards. There are a number of solutions to address this. Sound-absorbing wall panels, ceiling tiles and carpet can help make your workplace a more acoustic-friendly place to work.

Designing the office space with these materials will soak up some of the background din and make for a more productive space.

Problem No3:

My office is so silent that any kind of noise can be heard from 50 feet away. If anyone eats a snack, whispers to a colleague or coughs, it’s disruptive. How do we fix this?

Adding some gentle background noise can help to muffle these harmless noises that will occur in any office space. It could be music, a sound machine or a fan – just an ambient noise that isn’t distracting but serves as a sound equaliser. Again, the focus can shift to office productivity, rather than that colleague crunching his way through a bag of crisps.

If you’re having one, or all, of the issues above in your workplace, implementing these solutions can help make the office more functional and pleasant for all.