What Office Noise Distractions Can Sound Masking Help With?

If you’re looking for ways to combat noise distractions in your office spaces, you may have considered sound masking as an option. In this guide, we’re exploring some of the top noise distractions you can target with sound masking to enhance your work environment.

What types of noise distractions can sound masking treat?

Office conversations

Whether it’s small talk about the weather or a conversation about work, overhearing conversations is cited as one of the most common workplace distractions. In fact, in our Noise and Wellbeing Survey, personal conversations and colleagues’ telephone calls came out on top as the most distracting noises for UK office workers.

How can sound masking reduce our ability to overhear conversations?

Sound masking audio matches the same frequency as human speech. This makes conversations less intelligible. By not being able to tune into what’s being said, discussions in the office are far less distracting. In fact, sound masking reduces the radius of audible distractions by up to 10 metres, making it an ideal treatment for both open-plan and private office spaces. You can still converse with your employees and clients with ease, but conversations from across the room will sound softer, and altogether less audible.

Even if a discussion is happening close by, if the employees are speaking quietly, the conversation will be reduced to an unintelligible mumble.

Sudden bursts of laughter

Just like conversations of variable volume can be distracting, sudden noises, such as bursts of laughter or telephone ringtones are also major forms of distraction. Once again, sound masking can help mask the noise, making it less frustrating for your employees.

Telephone ringtones

57% of UK office workers reported finding telephone ringtones distracting in the workplace. But for many businesses, telephone calls are an essential part of daily operations, especially for customer service departments. Sound masking can help soften the sound of ringtones to make them less distracting.

Source: Noise and Wellbeing Survey

This guide is not an exhaustive list of noise distractions that sound masking can treat. Suitable for glass offices, meeting rooms, patient treatment rooms, or open plan offices, if you want to find out more, speak to the team at Remark or book a demonstration today.

By masking noise distractions you can help your employees focus on their work, enhance employee wellbeing and boost work productivity and accuracy.