How to Deal with Noise in an Open Plan Office
Congratulations! You got the job. You’re now in an office with many professional individuals who have worked for the company for so long already. It’s a new environment, with fresh faces, and an open plan space for where you could see everyone and reach out to them when you have any queries.
Then months came, the office you’d been eyeing on is not what you were looking for. Though your workmates are great, the environment is just not feasible for working; it’s rowdy, full of noise, and you just cannot hear yourself talking anymore. How do you even tell others to shut up? Yes, you can confront them, but perhaps blocking the annoying noise is something you could do.
“But, it’s an open-plan space. How could I even?” —- Chill, pals. We’re giving you some tips to bring the noise down just because others couldn’t shut the hell up. Oops!
Noise-canceling headphones
Some can work in a noisy environment, but others just could not. The most effortless thing you can do to avoid noise while working is to purchase noise-canceling headphones. In this way, you’ll be able to have noise-free working even when you’re in a crowded open plan office. Yet, ask for your boss’ advice first. They might think you’re music tripping during work.
Revisit your office layout
In most instances, the contributor to noise pollution might be your office arrangement. To deal with such, you may divide each department into sections, ensuring that there is a division of space so co-department employees can work well with each other. Moreover, it is to be noted also to scatter office equipment that produces noise; printers, scanners, and photocopiers can be divided per department also, or nevertheless just separate them with one another. Putting them in an enclosed space can heighten their sound, so it will be best to place them separately in an open space so the sound could diminish and also to avoid echoing.
Introduce Plants
Aside from providing your office comfort through producing additional oxygen, the plant’s stems, leaves, branches, and every part of it absorb sound well. However, it is important to remember to choose plants that have a rough bark and thick and fleshy leaves as they are more effective in absorbing and deflecting sound waves in any space due to their dynamic surface area. Hence, as decorative as it may seem, plants have an added purpose to make your office more relaxing and peaceful at the same time.
Install Acoustic Wall/Desk Panels
There are a lot of sound-absorbing materials out there that are specifically designed to minimize noise. There are acoustic wall or desk panels that provide you with an easier way to retract sound. Desk dividers and wall partitions can be considered as well, to constraint sound from being heard loudly from the desk near you. Still, check for something that’s guaranteed; look for stores that are selling such panels, and make sure to do a sound test to check its effectiveness. In this way, you’ll be able to control sound easily and effectively.
Dedicate a Quiet Room
If you’re an employer who wants to have a friendly working environment for all, you may dedicate a quiet room where anyone can go in when times are just too noisy to handle. Of course, offices are usually silent, but there’s an inevitable chance where it gets so loud most especially in busy months. Thus, you may have a room where the staff can run in if they think they cannot work anymore due to noise, and they can come back to their usual workstations when it’s not too noisy anymore. You may even have a plot of schedule for them, seeing to it that everyone can grab a bite of a peaceful space while working.
An open-space workplace can get too noisy sometimes. Thus, it is with no doubt that you’re looking for remedies to be able to reduce noise at the very least. You may try the tips above for a relaxing and noise-free working environment, and be productive and efficient with your work, noise-free and hassle-free for days.
