The biggest problems faced by office people/ teams working in open-plan office space is the problem of noise. Other people chit-chatting, the office colleagues talking, telephones ringing and noise from other machines these all contribute to creating a disturbing and not so favorable office buzz.
This noise, in the era of creative thoughtful work, has become a big concern for employers and employees both.
Research shows that the more complex and intricate your work is, employees need more time to re-focus and concentrate hard when distracted by noise. This also produces an unwillingness to take up and finish such serious tasks when people are aware of their noisy background. Providing control over how much noise to allow can help people focus better and improve workplace motivation to a much great extent. It definitely helps boost productivity as well.
Office fit out and design needs careful thought and in creating great office spaces one always needs to experiment and find new ways to provide form and functionality to control and keep a check on the ugly office noise. Globally the workplace authorities agree that use of quality acoustics in the office floors determines the performance factor and workplace wellbeing.
A great office fit out contractor and interior designer work towards incorporating important tools to create a noise-free office.
Some of the most effective methods used are:
1. Noise check/ control with thoughtful office design and plan.
2. Paying close attention to the different kind of work and work scenarios that happen in an office before they start the designing. Experts also develop a keen understanding of their clients’ work, their teams that need to work together and the ones that can work in isolation. Keeping in mind the various working styles and requirements, they place teams and individuals in proximity for better collaboration and keep isolated spaces for all the tasks and people that need the high level of concentration and strategic thoughtful insights.
3. Noise cancellation with thoughtful inspiring office fit out
4. To help all the larger teams collaborate better without disturbing others, office fit out consultants use office fabric, right acoustics material for ceilings and also use office carpet., vinyl flooring etc avoiding hard flooring which adds to noise created by regular walking of office users in the aisles and common areas. The use of such elements helps absorb noise and keeps other areas relatively peaceful. Aligning office storage and seating styles strategically, as they create barriers that block noise yet bring about collaboration without hindrance.
5. State of the art technologically savvy Cordless headphones for critical tasks. Many organizations provide and allow employees to put on headphones when they need their complete concentration for a task. Studies have proved that some level of noise does help to concentrate better when people are engaged in repetitive, structured tasks. Whether people use headphones for keeping them focused on their repetitive chores or use them to cancel other noise, the headphone is an excellent way of giving employees control over office noise.
6. Building quiet corners and telephone booths for better communication.
7. Apart from an intelligent office floor plan, office designers employ innovative and inspiring office equipment to include quiet corners in the office. Meeting pods for individuals or teams and office telebooths are such innovations that help people make phone calls and conduct short meetings peacefully and without any noise distraction.
