{"id":2814,"date":"2016-07-12T10:07:06","date_gmt":"2016-07-12T17:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=2814"},"modified":"2016-07-12T10:07:06","modified_gmt":"2016-07-12T17:07:06","slug":"employees-and-management-may-not-see-eye-to-eye-on-small-business-workplace-noise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/employees-and-management-may-not-see-eye-to-eye-on-small-business-workplace-noise\/","title":{"rendered":"Employees and management may not see eye to eye on small business workplace noise"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Employee<\/a><\/p>\n

Recently, in \u201cIs small business worker productivity declining? Noise may be the culprit,\u201d<\/a> I looked at the effect of noise on worker productivity. Underscoring the impact of noise on productivity is a “2013 U.S. Workplace Survey”<\/a> conducted by design and architecture firm Gensler in which 69% of survey participants indicated that they are dissatisfied with noise levels at their primary workspace. The Gensler survey found that overall workplace performance in 2013 dropped 6% since 2008 when the firm conducted its previous workplace survey.<\/p>\n

Now new survey results indicate that when it comes to noise and distractions in today\u2019s open office environments workers and management may not see eye to eye. A study conducted by Oxford Economics “When the Walls Come Down: How Smart Companies are Rewriting the Rules of the Open Workplace”<\/a> funded by Plantronics examined what workers want from their office environments, and what managers need to do to enable the highest productivity and satisfaction from their teams. The study included 600 executives and 600 employees from a range of industries around the world.<\/p>\n

The study found that the ability to focus without interruptions is a top priority for employees when it comes to office design. Yet only 39% of executives say ambient noise affects their employees\u2019 productivity and just 33% say loud colleagues are an issue. As a result, the study found that very few companies have taken meaningful steps to address the problem. In office construction, noise is an afterthought and executives overestimate employees\u2019 ability to drown it out with the tools available to them.<\/p>\n

Employees cite other workplace challenges<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The study highlighted that above all workers value getting work done and that interruptions are having an impact on productivity. \u00a0Other challenges impacting productivity and work\/life balance include:<\/p>\n