Noisy Office Disrupting Workplace Productivity

A noisy office and a lack of quiet areas for employees to focus on important tasks are causing a disruption in productivity, a new study reveals.

The research, carried out by workplace design firm Unispace, claim the cause of disruption can also be linked to open plan environments. With the amount of time employees spend in meetings and collaborating with colleagues, the firm also conclude that companies may not be doing enough to promote better concentration across the workforce.

Noisy Office Tops Reasons for Workplace Disruptions

The study team at Unispace surveyed more than 2,000 office workers across the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), the US and Asia-Pacific. When asked, participants ranked a noisy office as being one of two of the bigger causes of office disruptions. A lack of quiet areas or ‘break out’ areas also ranked highly.

Some stand out figures and statistics reveal that:

• Workers in the professional services industry spend 66% of their time in a typical working day conducting activities requiring focus and concentration.
• An average of 20% of workers in the same profession around the world would rate their workplace as being ‘poor’ for being able to support tasks requiring concentration.
• Employees in banking and the finance industries spend 60% of their time concentrating and 25% collaborating with colleagues.
• In the technology sector, 55% of time is spent on tasks that require focus from workers, with 28% of time being spent working with others.

A Miscalculation of Tasks Requiring Better Focus?

For many companies asked in the same study, the majority explained their intention to change the workplace in order to provide better time for collaboration, to maintain current employee attraction and retention rates and to make cost savings. However, Unispace’s data may indicate that companies are miscalculating the amount of time required for focus-based work, compared to collaborative.

Unispace Regional Principal of Strategy for EMEA, SAM Sahni, explains how businesses may think open office layouts will help solve the issue, but are underestimating the disruptive impact a noisy office may have on workers.

“I would challenge the premise that open plan workplace solutions are introduced to increase workplace collaboration. I think we profoundly underestimate the issue of sound in the workplace and the disruptive impact it has on the ability to be productive during the working day.”

Improving Concentration and Clarity

Regardless of where you work in the office, a noisy office is likely to be a pain point for many, especially when speaking on the phone or concentrating on important tasks. Why not take a look at our range of Telephone Headsets on OPInfo from leading brands such as Plantronics, Jabra and Trust?

And when you’ve managed to find a quiet space for a meeting or for collaborative work, our selection of Voice Conferencing Phones and Units will make any communication you make in the workplace crystal clear and free from disruption.