The open plan office has been the favourite layout for designers and companies for some time. Not only does it make sense for space planning, it encourages teamwork and collaboration. However, this can be to the detriment of noise levels. The explosion in the use of video conferencing has created a new dimension to this challenge. Having a Zoom call in an open plan office is never a popular decision.
Research suggests that noise and distraction impacts wellness, productivity and even financial performance, yet executives aren’t doing enough to address the problem.
In the Oxford Economics study, 63 percent of employees said they lack quiet space for focused work, which has a negative effect on their productivity, satisfaction and wellbeing. Indeed, employees in the noisiest office environments are more likely to say they may leave their job in the next six months.
96 percent of executives see employee productivity as critical to their financial performance, yet just 40 percent understood the link between noise, distraction and productivity.
The commercial sector is our bread and butter. We started supplying offices with furniture which promoted a healthy environment in 2003. We were one of the first UK companies to extoll the benefits of height adjustable desks and we’ve used them for our own teams ever since. We noticed that the UK was far behind other European countries such as Sweden where employers must, by law, provide desks which can be adjusted to allow users to have periods of working whilst standing.
The open plan office has been the favourite layout for designers and companies for some time. Not only does it make sense for space planning, it encourages teamwork and collaboration. However, this can be to the detriment of noise levels. The explosion in the use of video conferencing has created a new dimension to this challenge. Having a Zoom call in an open plan office is never a popular decision.
Research suggests that noise and distraction impacts wellness, productivity and even financial performance, yet executives aren’t doing enough to address the problem.
In the Oxford Economics study, 63 percent of employees said they lack quiet space for focused work, which has a negative effect on their productivity, satisfaction and wellbeing. Indeed, employees in the noisiest office environments are more likely to say they may leave their job in the next six months.
96 percent of executives see employee productivity as critical to their financial performance, yet just 40 percent understood the link between noise, distraction and productivity.
Since then, we have curated a range of products which enhance employee wellbeing in the workplace, in response to the fact that most people in the developed world spend around 90% of their time indoors. We focus on the elements which we feel most help daily users of the built environment: improving air quality; removing sound pollution; managing stress; and providing man-made natural light.
Many of our products and solutions help companies to earn points for their Well certification.