New study shows poor acoustic design is hampering UK productivity – Image from haki7733-Shutterstock
Noisy offices are lowering productivity, with 60% of office workers unable to concentrate and delivering poor quality work owing to loud workspaces, shows research.
Only 20% think their bosses have done enough to combat the issue. Excessive noise is fraying co-worker connections, with a third irritated by colleagues and a fifth (18%) seeing office relationships damaged because of sound levels. One in five under-30s has resorted to physical violence owing to the disturbance.
Specialists in architectural acoustics, Oscar Acoustics has released findings from its latest study into workplace noise, with 2,000 office workers polled.
The UK has seen fewer workers return to the office full-time than in any other European nation. Although this is frequently put down to long commutes, the research says this is also down to offices being "too noisy".
The study found just 8% work in a quiet office, with only a quarter of office workers working in a space that’s been well designed for their job.
The sounds most likely to stop people from working effectively are colleagues talking to each other (38%), and other people on calls (34%). Colleagues eating (21%), co-workers singing/humming (19%) and a similar number are troubled by others’ bodily sounds (eg, scratching).
Four in 10 office workers said poor acoustics were impairing their concentration, and a third said their mood was negatively affected, with a quarter reporting stress induced by exceptionally high noise levels.
Raising grievances
When asked about noise issues, a concerning one in 10 have resorted to physical violence (with one in five of the Gen Z demographic). Most office workers are resisting the temptation of taking extreme measures, trying to avoid the din by working from home (21%), moving desks (17%), or wearing headphones (23%).
Yet too much noise is fraying office relationships, with workers reporting snapping at colleagues (17%), and their bosses (12%), raising grievances (16%), and leaving passive-aggressive notes (11%).
High levels of excessive noise can cause permanent health damage, and 15% of UK office workers say that their workplaces have damaged their hearing. Additionally, a fifth say it led to disturbed sleep and a quarter reported stress owing to noise levels in their office.
The World Health Organization states that excess noise is harmful to health, and when asked, only a third of UK workers associated excessive noise with hearing loss, and high blood pressure, and just one in seven understood that it could lead to diabetes, stroke, heart disease and heart attacks.
Despite the ill effects of too much noise, some employees say that most companies have made some adjustments to the office environment, with only a third saying that nothing had been done.
Common adaptations include installing physical barriers (26%), soundproofing (21%), training for noisy people (25%), and implementing quiet zones (25%). Other adjustments include moving a loud team (18%). One in seven workers said their boss had fired someone for being too noisy.
More positively, only one in 10 employees said their company didn’t take noise levels seriously. With one in three office workers saying they are either late with projects, or turning in poorer quality work because of noise, one quick win, which can make a significant difference, is addressing workplace noise levels.
Ben Hancock from Oscar Acoustics said: “Employers are facing real challenges around staffing and needing to achieve the same results with fewer people. That’s why bosses must consider how employees can use workspaces most effectively. This means understanding that while aesthetics are important, you also have to consider how people work and ensure that there are spaces for collaboration, concentration and connection. Noise may seem a minor irritant, but not addressing this could hurt your business’s bottom line and put your employees’ health at risk.”
