Photo credit: Kindel Media
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition, and Honorary Chair, Quiet American Skies
Craig Hale’s article in techradar is titled: “Feeling unproductive at work.” In it, Hale informs us that workers are complaining about noisy offices, which may adversely impact their mental and physical health. Noisy environments also negatively impact worker productivity. Hale references a report from headset producer Jabra, which noted that a study of 2,000 workers — a majority of which were from the U.K. — found that employees were complaining about loud working environments. They added that noisy workplaces diminished their passion for work.
During the pandemic, many employees worked at home. But once the pandemic ended, employees were expected to return to their offices. It might be that employees experienced greater quiet while working at home and, as a result, were even more aware of surrounding noise in their offices. It came as no surprise that Jabra recommended professional headsets to deal with the office noise. Jabra’s findings were also reported in an article published by UC Today. Again, headphones were recommended to cope with noise in the office. This article stresses that employers must attend to the impacts of noise on their employees.
Interestingly, I was recently interviewed by Sarah Crosbie, the host of a Canadian radio program about noise in the workplace. Crosbie informed me that she had seen a report that called for quieter work environments. In discussing how offices could be made quieter, I discussed the use of soundproofing materials in walls and ceilings and the distances between workers. I also suggested that workers should be conscious of the impacts of their sounds on others and try their best to lower the decibel level.
The articles cited above and my interview demonstrate a growing interest in the need to lessen noise pollution and enhance quiet. Hopefully, this interest in noise and quiet will bring about action.
