Is Office Noise Holding You Back
The (Noisy) Elephant in the Office
Office noise is a highly problematic, yet frequently overlooked, profit killer. When looking for revenue leaks, business owners and managers rarely think of co-worker chatter and water cooler gossip as a multi-billion dollar drain. Yet thatís just what it is- the average worker is distracted more than 2 hours every day, which costs businesses about $600 billion every year.
How do those 2 hours add up to $600 billion? Well, remember that itís 2 hours per employee per day. Thatís a lot of man hours lost. Plus, distraction leads to numerous other problems, such as a lack of problem-solving skills, loss of focus, more errors, and higher stress. None of this adds up positively.
Taking Responsibility
It's easy to blame workers for their level of distraction at work. While they're responsible for their own work and productivity, it's only fair to assess if there are any other contributing influences (meaning other than themselves). Many workers are dragged into conversations they really aren't intending to partake in. It's hard to tune out conflicts, loud sales guys, and general noisy co-workers in an open office or amongst rows of cubicles. In fact, 80% of surveyed workers said that office noise did indeed keep them unfocused at work. On the other hand, 81% of supervisors were completely unaware of this problem.
According to an American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) study, workers in offices with even small acoustic treatments were:
- 48% more focused on their work
- 51% less distracted, resulting in
- 10% fewer errors and a
- 27% decrease in worker stress
 Thus, it seems prudent to deal with office noise instead of wishing workers would just buck up and get more done. This means being part of the 19% of supervisors who are aware of a big problem and who choose to be proactive in managing it so workers can be more productive and your business can get a leg up on the competition, even in a tough economy!
If youíre ready to do just that- improve productivity and problem-solving skills, while decreasing distraction, stress, and errors,contact us today for a no-obligation custom-engineered speech privacy solution.
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