Toning down the noise inside the workplace
by Celine Roque
Many of us have, at one point or another, had the chance of working in an open plan office space along with a large number of co-workers. A recent article tackled this type of environment’s adverse effects on employee health and productivity. The findings may come as little surprise to some:
“Employees face a multitude of problems such as the loss of privacy, loss of identity, low work productivity, various health issues, overstimulation and low job satisfaction when working in an open plan work environment. Workers were plagued by insecurity… ever-conscious of their colleagues’ ability to see what they were doing on the computer and eavesdrop on their phone calls. High noise levels led to impaired concentration and low productivity… There was a higher incidence of workplace conflict, with people sitting so close to their neighbour that even a ringing phone could irritate.”
Given that most large office spaces use this kind of design for various reasons, this deserves some serious thought. A few of these issues, like office acoustics, may be resolved at a technical level, but others warrant a workplace culture that promotes courtesy. Simple things like keeping your voice low, decreasing the volume of your phone’s ringer, respecting your neighbor’s privacy, using headphones instead of speakers, and so on can go a long way if everybody did their share.
However, it’s not just outside forces that are creating distractions – we ourselves are guilty of introducing stress in our lives. It’s becoming common to see people checking email during meetings, sending text messages on the sly, or writing a report with chatting on the phone. Multitasking is becoming the norm, even if studies have shown that it doesn’t help our productivity.
I think it all goes back to courtesy, to others and to ourselves. Tone things down, block things out, and learn to focus.
Thought...
