What does it take to improve workplace productivity? Does it mean pressuring people to meet deadlines? Does it mean giving coworkers free rein to their working conditions, even if it hampers yours? It’s amazing what unexpected, but effective solutions are available in this day and age, if you are willing to pitch in time and a bit of money.

This is where we can make use of white noise. This is random noise that, when captured by the human ear, does not have any corresponding meaning. To explain, when we hear a person talking we grasp their words as words. When we hear a line of music, we understand it as music, even when that music is off-key. However, when listening to noise we associate no meaning to it other than as random sounds, meaning noise.

These kinds of sounds have several uses. They are often used as audio samples in mixing music, sometimes even in assembling whole songs. These sounds are also used in testing out concert venues. Noise is a godsend for people with tinnitus, because they alleviate the ringing sound that causes their suffering.

Because it hampers external noise sources, it is an essential component of emergency sirens, like police, EMT or firefighter car sirens. This has also proven effective in establishing privacy, and so it has come into use by counselors and in security locations.

But how does using white noise machines help improve office productivity? They do so by taking advantage of human nature. Your coworkers may often have to deal with auditory distractions of several kinds: office chatter, music playing, even the shuffling of steps. Adding noise makes all these distractions inconspicuous, allowing coworkers to focus on their tasks at hand.

Even if privacy is not a tantamount concern, several systems are available that can accommodate your office needs. You need not spend much on productivity solutions either, as these systems have long been in use in the office already and you can make appropriate purchase of a system balancing cost and utility.

White Noise Machines are a viable productivity solution in today’s workplace. White noise has already been proven useful in different fields. These machines work because they take control of innate human behavior. By effectively blocking out external auditory distractions, they allow employees to focus on their tasks. Several kinds of machines and systems make them affordable but no less useful in any office setup.

- Frank Barnett

In recent years, white-collar productivity has declined at a rate that is inversely proportionate to the growth of the labor force. Some have observed that office density may be where the nature of the problem lies. There are simply more people being employed per square foot of office space. The result is that workers are generally crowded, and as such much interference is generated by interruptions. These interruptions usually result from noise generated by employee conversations and office equipment. As such, the above-mentioned problems from office density lie in the increasing noise density. In effect, the growth of the white collar work force has reached a tipping point in which this growth is creating the decline of productivity, rather than an increase. Read the rest of this entry »

People who work in busy offices appreciate the extent to which noise and extraneous conversations distract their attention. These distractions increase stress levels, decrease productivity, and increase the probability of making mistakes. New research corroborates this common experience of cubicle and office workers from around the world, and gives employers pause to consider investing in sound masking technology. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes it can be hard to concentrate in the office. You may be subject to noisy coworkers, loud copy machines, ringing phones, or people shouting outside. All of these things can be distracting and make it difficult to focus on the task at hand. Read the rest of this entry »