The office is noisy! We'll teach you some soundproofing measures and layout tips that you can try right away!

The noise-related complaints that office workers often receive can be broadly divided into three types: "noise," "sound leakage," and "echo."​
Let's take a look at each of these issues and the risks they pose to your business.

One of the problems many people face due to noise in the office is a decrease in concentration.
When the surrounding noise is too loud, it can be hard to concentrate on your work and your productivity can suffer, especially when you're working on a deadline or a complex project.

This noise also affects conversations at work. During important business negotiations over the phone or web conferences, or during internal meetings, the surrounding noise can make it difficult to hear what the other person is saying accurately. This type of difficulty in hearing due to noise not only reduces the quality of communication, but can also lead to "misunderstandings" and "information leaks," so immediate measures are required.

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Reference: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, International Information and Communications Strategy Bureau (2019) Research on ICT-driven innovation and the creation of new ecosystems
https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000674399.pdf

This is a problem where conversations in conference rooms or meeting spaces are leaked to the public. The leakage of highly confidential information, such as customer information or personnel evaluations, can damage a company's credibility.

Furthermore, if conversations during a web conference can be heard by those around due to sound leakage, it could not only result in information leakage on your side, but also in violation of the privacy of the other party.

The phenomenon in which sound is reflected in a conference room or large space, making it difficult to hear, is called "echo." Similar to the hearing disturbance caused by noise, not being able to hear sounds clearly reduces the quality of communication, leading to "lower meeting efficiency" and "more frequent requests to repeat content," causing problems in business.

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As such, problems such as noise, sound leakage, and reverberation in the office pose a variety of risks to companies, including reduced workers performance, communication problems, information leaks, and privacy violations.

So, what specifically can be done to solve problems such as noise, sound leakage, and echo in the office?
From here, we will introduce effective measures to solve noise problems in the office in four steps.

The first measure, which is the easiest to implement, is to reduce the source of noise as much as possible.
Simply making noise rules and etiquette known throughout the office, such as "be mindful of the volume of your conversations in the office" and "answering the phone in a designated area," will reduce noise sources throughout the office and help prevent problems.

The second measure is to "prevent sound leakage from the source as much as possible."
For example, to prevent sound from leaking from conference rooms or meeting spaces, it is effective to install partitions and doors with high soundproofing properties.
Of course, by taking other measures such as "using a conference room reservation system" and "displaying usage status," it will be easier to know when other employees are in a meeting, and you can further prevent sound leakage due to unnecessary entry or opening and closing of doors.

In addition to the above measures to prevent sound leakage, you can expect even greater results by introducing sound-absorbing items for the office.
For example, installing "sound-absorbing panels" or "sound-absorbing curtains" in conference rooms or telephone booths can reduce sound leakage and echo. These items can be easily installed without the need for major construction work, and are highly designed, making them convenient because they create a comfortable space without compromising the office atmosphere.

Another method for reducing noise in the office is called "sound masking."
Sound masking is a technology that makes it difficult to hear conversations by generating special sounds. By playing comfortable ambient sounds in the office, you will not be bothered by surrounding conversations, which is effective in improving concentration and protecting privacy. It can be installed in a variety of places, such as work areas and conference rooms.

Office layout also plays an important role in solving office noise problems.
Here we will introduce layout ideas for minimizing the impact of noise and ways to make your office sound environment even more comfortable.

The effects of noise can be reduced by separating the office space into "quiet" areas where workers can concentrate on their own work and "busy" areas where multiple people communicate.
For example, by grouping together places where conversations are likely to occur, such as meeting spaces and web conferencing spaces, in a communication area, you can prevent noise from affecting concentrated work areas.

When separating concentrated work areas from communication areas, it is more effective to use the right tools. For example, if you place tables or web conference booths specifically for web conferences in an open space communication area, you can create a comfortable web conference environment without worrying about sound leakage to the surroundings.

ITOKI also offers a variety of other products and solutions to solve noise problems.We also have many proposals for improving the comfort of the sound environment in small offices and open spaces, which have been increasing in number in recent years, so please feel free to contact us.

We also have a free guidebook that provides solutions to noise problems in the office and ideas for office layout.

This guidebook provides detailed information on specific methods for creating a comfortable sound environment, from soundproofing measures to using sound-absorbing items and effective zoning. It also contains a wealth of simple measures that can be put into practice right away, as well as some surprising ideas.

If you are having trouble with noise issues in your office, please download the file from the following page and make use of it.