"Noise in the office"
"Noise in the office"
Day against noise - "Noise in the office" as a disruptive factor
The Day against Noise takes place on 27 April. This day of action emphasises the fact that high noise levels get on our nerves every day - both in our private and academic appointments. The effects of room acoustics on performance and the methods that can be used to optimise them are also being addressed by hearing experts from the Auditory Valley research and development cluster.
Around 17 million people in Germany work in offices. That is now more than every second employee. The trend towards open-plan offices is playing a growing role - more and more people are working together in one room. Noise nuisance is inevitable. And: speech is perceived as the number one source of disturbance, with particularly negative effects on cognitive performance. "This is mainly due to the fact that we humans are very communicative: Not only do we like to talk a lot, but our ears automatically 'perk up' as soon as we hear speech around us. And the more clearly this can be heard, the more we concentrate on it. It is primarily the information content associated with the spoken word that distracts us and has a negative impact on our working memory, rather than the sound level itself," explains Dr Markus Meis, who conducts research into spatial and psychoacoustics at the Oldenburg Hearing Centre.
Up to half an hour of "lost work" every day due to noise
In addition to conversations, it is above all telephone ringing, printer noise, keyboard clatter and a lack of acoustic privacy that have a disruptive effect on the work process and significantly minimise employee satisfaction. Employers should take this problem very seriously in the interests of their employees and operational efficiency. This is because, according to an assessment by office workers surveyed, the working atmosphere caused by this leads to an average loss of up to 34 minutes a day. "If you extrapolate this once per employee per year, investing in better room acoustics is definitely worthwhile from a business point of view," says Meis.
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