Improved Acoustics For Enhanced Productivity

As more and more offices in India and overseas continue to adapt an open office plan layout, internationally accepted solutions for acoustics such as sound-absorbing ceilings, wall absorbers, and sound-absorbing screens will become increasingly significant for better employee productivity.

- Sudeep Kolte

Noise is the single greatest negative factor impacting employee productivity in offices across the nation. Recent studies indicate that noise pollution in offices is one of the main reasons that attributes to poor workplace productivity. Studies have also shown that attempting to perform knowledge-based tasks in a densely occupied office space is difficult, and this in turn, is believed to hamper productivity. Nowadays, offices are increasingly adopting the modern open plan office design, providing a sleek and neat look to workplace interiors. An open plan office provides employees the required avenue for creativity and collaboration. Open plan is the architectural and interior design for any floor plan which uses large, open spaces, and minimizes the use of small, enclosed rooms such as private offices.

Research, however, indicates that as more and more offices adopt new open plan and open cubicle interior designs, employee productivity is on a decline. According to a study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, where 65,000 people from across continents were surveyed over the past decade, more than fifty percent of the workforce are dissatisfied with the level of "speech privacy" leading to disruption in their work . The research also indicated that almost 62% of the workforce find it difficult to attain privacy and space at work. Additionally, 57% of them do nothing to address the problem of noise in their workplaces . While open plan office spaces are a great way for employees to collaborate, and share thoughts and ideas, the acoustics of any workplace need to be well thought out as part of the concept during the initial design to prevent disruption in work flow.

Some of the common instances of workplace noise are: