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Office Noise: Tips To Make Your Life Easier
Imagine that you must prepare an important report concerning your company's sales over the last three months and on the preferences of your customers as determined by your company's sales force. On the day that you must prepare that report, you will make sure to be well rested and to be in the office early. You certainly do not want to have to deal with irrelevant and uninteresting distractions while you're preparing that report, such as a colleague who yammers endlessly about the odd date that she was on last weekend.
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, many employees have to put up with office noise at some time or other in their working lives. Hence it is a good idea to be ready to better handle these possibilities. Realistically, if you have co-workers who spend too much time chatting about anything and everything, you might want to limit your time dealing with them. Be straightforward yet diplomatic in letting them know that their constant talking is disruptive. They might provide an apology, and will possibly also curtail their conversations with you in the future.
You can politely ask your IT staff to investigate sources of noise if a printer or fax machine near your workspace seems to be malfunctioning. One can assume that the unwanted noise is due to a malfunction, because companies spend millions making these electronics "noise-free". If qualified professionals service the machines, this can help reduce the noise.
In some offices, the office noise can be attributed to the coffeemaker. Yes, the machine is installed to provide convenience to workers. That said, if the noise it makes hinders you from concentrating on your work, its time to raise the issue with the administrative staff.
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.
Published May 29th, 2008
Filed in Career