Quiet! I’m working here
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio
“Quiet! I’m Working Here.” That’s the title of a recent New York Times* “Work Friend” column, also appearing in the national print edition with a different headline. The headline in the print version characterizes the problem of noise in the open office environment: “When It’s Tough to Get Something Done at the Office.”
The person complaining, tagged “Head Spinning,” writes: “I work in an open office environment. Lots of cubicles, bright lights, noisy. The works. There is no privacy, no ability to shut a door and focus. I’m constantly interrupted by folks who want something or who are chatterboxes. By the end of the day my head is spinning. Why do we expect maximum productivity in this setup? Every day I feel as if I’m doing my taxes in a high school cafeteria.”
Open office designs save money. More workers can crowd into less space than private offices. As columnist Rachel Dry notes, open office advocates think these spaces permit fortuitous interactions with colleagues, fostering new ideas and collaborations. The harsh reality is that what falls under the broad rubric of knowledge work often requires solo concentration, not chatty collaboration. Dry offers what she acknowledges are “cringy tips” such as a sign indicating if one is open to conversation or needs to concentrate.
The Government Services Administration is the nation’s largest landlord, managing office space for the federal government. In 2011, GSA published a monograph titled “Sound Matters.” The monograph’s subtitle offers hope: “How to achieve acoustic comfort in the contemporary office.” Those facing the same problems as Head Spinning can share the GSA publication with their managers.
There is a small body of published research showing that higher ambient noise levels actually interfere both with productivity and with the quality of the work being done. For those who are allowed to work from home, full time or part time, that option offers another solution to a noisy workplace.
We hope that Head Spinning will find relief from some of Dry’s suggestions, or from the GSA publication if he or she reads this blog post.
*The article may be behind The Times’ paywall. The Quiet Coalition generally avoids content behind paywalls but occasionally makes exceptions. In this case, even just the title catalyzes a discussion of open office noise and informs readers about a GSA publication offering solutions.