Lower the Noise Levels in Your Office in 5 Simple Steps

When it comes to perfecting the sound levels in your office, you might struggle to strike a balance between stifling silence and too much noise. While a murmur of background chatter is normal in most workplaces, it can be tricky to know how to keep this to a level that’s acceptable for everyone involved.   Aside from being a common annoyance among workers, a noisy office setting can seriously affect productivity and concentration levels and increase stress and tension, leading to an overall sense of unhappiness and a significant dip in employee morale. In fact, a study carried out by the University of Sydney in 2013 found that a lack of sound privacy was the biggest frustration for employees.   So, if you sense that some of your workforce might be struggling, or you’re just keen to create a harmonious working environment that everyone can enjoy, keep reading. In this blog, we look at five ways you can lower the noise levels in your office.   1. Rearrange your office layout   Firstly, it pays to look at your office layout. Altering the way in which your space is arranged could help you keep your sound levels under control. For example, workstations that are placed close together in clusters can help compartmentalise noise. This can be especially effective if you then sit those who are in the same team together as this will prevent employees from shouting across the room to speak to each other. Instead, they can simply chat among themselves without causing much of a disruption to the rest of the office. Aside from moving furniture around, you could rearrange some of your equipment too. Gadgets such as printers, photocopiers and fax machines are known for being noisy, especially if they’re being used constantly throughout the day. To prevent these pieces of technology from causing too much of a disturbance, why not place them in a far-off corner of the office? Better yet, you could put them in a separate room.   2. Make use of plants   Believe it or not, plants have been proven to be highly effective in reducing noise levels, especially in open plan office setups. A plant’s stem, leaves and branches all play a part in helping to absorb sound, particularly in hard-surfaced areas, such as rooms with wooden floors or concrete walls. Their flexible qualities also mean they can deflect and refract sound. The more greenery you strategically position around the office, the greater the impact will be. Bear in mind that large, leafy plants are your best bet when it comes to muffling as much noise as possible. Aside from helping you control noise levels in your workspace, plants are thought to improve air quality, not to mention they’re extremely aesthetically pleasing too.   3. Create a quiet space   Whether it’s being interrupted by others asking questions or just the general chatter in the room, in the hustle and bustle of a busy work environment, some of your employees will no doubt struggle to concentrate on the task at hand. So, for when the office is just too distracting, you could provide your workers with a quiet retreat.   If your workspace is big enough, you could dedicate an entire room to this. However, if you’re lacking in square footage, you could simply use a corner of your existing office. Using screen partitions, you can create a quiet, peaceful area for your employees to use, blocking out the noise of the rest of the office. At Furniture at Work™, we offer an impressive range of office screens that can be used in a variety of different ways, including curved and folding models. What’s more, this style of partition can easily be moved around, meaning you won’t have the commitment of a permanent segregating wall fixture.   4. Allow your employees to use headphones   Giving your employees permission to use headphones is a great idea, especially if some of your workers struggle to concentrate as a result of a noisy office. Allowing your staff to zone out with their favourite tunes will also help to keep chatter to a minimum, giving those not wearing headphones a chance to get on with their work with less distraction. To really keep the sound out, you could go for high quality noise cancelling models.   5. Kit out your space with soundproofing materials   You could pull out all the stops and kit out your office with soundproofing materials. There may be a number of areas in your space that you can alter to make sure they are absorbing as much noise as possible. For example, soundproof walls can significantly reduce sound transmission from one room to another, while noise reducing ceiling panels can help muffle loud footfall from above. As for your flooring, carpet is ideal, however vinyl flooring has its own sound absorption qualities too.   You could even go as far as to install acoustic box inserts into your plug sockets to eliminate sound transfer through walls, or fill any holes and edges in wall structures with an acoustic sealant to stop noise leaking out. Although there’s no denying that this is a costly and time consuming task, insulating your office with specially designed materials could be particularly useful if you’re finding it difficult to get your sound levels just right.   The truth is, it’s near impossible to create a completely silent office - and you shouldn’t want to either. Especially in open plan offices, a small amount of noise is healthy, and it could actually benefit your employees. A low hubbub of soft background chatter can be comforting for workers, making them feel more at ease and less self-conscious while they get on with their day. So while you might want to keep your sound levels under control, it’s OK to allow a little noise filter through the office. Finding the perfect balance of noise in your office is key, and by putting these tips into practice, you should be able to create a harmonious environment for you and your colleagues to enjoy every day.