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Anybody who has ever worked in a busy office understands the extent to which office noise and conversational distractions waste time, decrease productivity, increase stress levels, and increase the incidence of avoidable errors. Recent research validates the common experience of office workers everywhere, and provides employers ample justification for investing in systems designed to decrease office noise.

A recent study by Cornell University researchers, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, found that even relatively low levels of office noise resulted in increased stress levels, decreased motivation, and decreased productivity. Researchers theorize that the increased stress levels, as evidenced by increased levels of adrenaline in the bloodstream, over time may even contribute to the development of serious health problems, such as heart disease. In addition to the cost of productivity lost, employers could bear the brunt of these associated health care expenses as well.

Another study by the American Society of Interior Designers also demonstrated that employee productivity decreased as ambient noise levels increased. This study found excessive noise especially prevalent in the modern open-office environment where frail cubicles have replaced walled offices, and electronic devices add to the cacophony.

Offices in mixed areas sometimes create one of several problems for the modern office worker. For instance, there may be a person in a near by partition which may be using the phone this can cause problems for a technical writer, who needs complete concentration, from working at his/her best work ability in a particular time frame.

There are many solutions available to the serious problem of excessive office noise. Distracted employees often turn to wearable methods of muffling sound, such as ear plugs or ear muffs, or desktop white noise machines. However, by indiscriminately muffling all sounds, such devices also serve to decrease employee productivity. Headphones with active noise canceling technology can decrease distracting noises without muffling important sounds.

The wise business decision to help with loud offices noise begins with the correct office design, proper sound insulation, or a well working installment of a sound masking system. The cost for systems have dropped quite a bit over the past years. With the information and the cost being low, a smart employer has no reason to ignore the problem of loud workplace noise.