Workstation design for organizational productivity - National ...

Acoustics in the OfficeThe Office Acoustic EnvironmentThe acoustic environment in the office comprises all the sounds that occurthroughout the day. Some of these sounds may be pleasant, such as music, orcarry important information, such as a telephone ring or a fire alarm.However, when sounds are unwanted by the listener, they are perceived asnoise: unpleasant, bothersome, distracting, or psychologically harmful. Theinformation content, predictability, necessity, and controllability determinethe noise annoyance. The most annoying noises contain information, and areunpredictable (irregular), unnecessary, and uncontrollable. A.1When noise becomes a problem, most people close the door. Unfortunately, inopen-plan offices, there are no full-height walls and doors to block noise, andmany office sounds are audible at a distance.All office sounds spread out in all directions from their sources and arereflected, absorbed, and transmitted when they strike surfaces. These soundsneed to be controlled so that occupants are not disturbed by conversations andoffice equipment noises, and so that they do not disturb others.Sound diffractionCeiling reflectionComplex reflectionSound transmissionSound propagation between two workstationsProblems with Acoustics: Too Much NoiseEmployees name freedom from noise as one of the most important factorsaffecting their ability to work effectively. Noise has a negative effect onfocus, task performance, comfort, stress levels and, indirectly, onorganizational productivity.13