{"id":2122,"date":"2015-02-17T10:32:52","date_gmt":"2015-02-17T18:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=2122"},"modified":"2015-02-17T10:32:52","modified_gmt":"2015-02-17T18:32:52","slug":"workplace-noise-can-lead-small-business-employees-to-distraction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/workplace-noise-can-lead-small-business-employees-to-distraction\/","title":{"rendered":"Workplace noise can lead small business employees to distraction"},"content":{"rendered":"
Finding it hard to hear yourself think at work? Noise in the workplace has always been a problem, but it\u2019s become more of an issue with the trend toward open-space work environments. While open office spaces, whether in your small business office or in a co-working environment<\/a>, can benefit collaboration; they can be hard on the ears.<\/p>\n A study by the University of California Berkeley Center for the Built Environment found that noise and lack of speech privacy are the biggest complaints among office workers, writes the Harvard Business Review<\/em> in \u201cNoise at the Office: How to Cope.\u201d<\/a> With the adoption of open office spaces, it\u2019s becoming harder for office workers to escape the noise from coworkers, HBR points out. And white noise, which offered some relief from coworker conversations, has been reduced as a result of better design in heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.<\/p>\n Taking work out of the office fails to eliminate the problem. With today\u2019s mobile devices and apps<\/a>, you can work anywhere. But if you think the office is noisy, you\u2019ll get little relief in a coffee shop or airport lounge. While many workers work all or part of the week from home, unless you have a sound proof home office, noise from neighbors, the dog barking, or construction crews down the street still can be a distraction.<\/p>\n Even if your own small business office doesn\u2019t pose a noise problem, you can run into one working on site at a customer or client. There you have no control over your surroundings. This was a problem for Pariveda Solutions<\/a>, an IT company in Dallas, whose consultants work on site during project implementations. Each site poses different challenges for consultants in terms of privacy and noise interference when making calls or participating in conference calls.<\/p>\n For Pariveda Solutions consultants, Plantronics headsets<\/a> were the answer to eliminating background noise and providing privacy wherever they work. They are not alone. Quoted in the New York Times<\/em> article on \u201cFrom Cubicles, Cry for Quiet Pierces Office Buzz,\u201d<\/a> one software entrepreneur described headphones \u201cas the new wall\u201d in open space work environments.<\/p>\nYou can\u2019t get escape the noise<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Headsets can help cut out noise
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