The Benefits of Soundproofing Your Office
Whether you work in a small office or for a large corporation, there’s no doubt you’ve felt the fundamental changes the workspace has been going through over the past several years. As more team members return to work from the office (at least for several days per week), businesses need to adjust their practices once again to accommodate a growing number of employees that show up to work in-person, and offer them an optimal working environment.
Co-working spaces are also making a post-pandemic rebound. Recent projections for the shared office space sector (19.7% CAGR for 2022 and 17.8% through 2026) indicate further exponential growth, with Manhattan being crowned the #1 city for coworking space in the United States.
With more people, comes more noise. The cumulative nature of a noisy environment, where people can’t hear well, and therefore speak louder, can have detrimental consequences on a company's ability to operate successfully. If you’ve ever worked in a noisy office, you’ve experienced the intense anxiety and frustration working in this type of setting entails.
Why is a noisy office so disruptive?
Custom hanging ceiling panels can significantly reduce echo, minimize sound travel and improve call quality.
According to Ariel Abrahams, Senior Manager of NY Soundproofing: “There are many ways to analyze sound. One way is using the term ‘decay’, which refers to the time it takes for sound to fade to silence. If it takes a long time for sound to decay, the excess noise can be very disruptive. Conversations begin to bleed into each other, or cause you to not be able to understand what someone is saying to you. People become irritated, and speak louder. When sound isn’t working right we get annoyed. We need to be able to hear and understand each other.”
Soundproofing your office, Transforming your space.
The benefits of professionally soundproofing your office space can’t be overstated. They include:
Increased productivity and better quality work
Complete acoustic treatment of an open office area in Midtown Manhattan
When team members are able to hear and understand, they perform better. It's as simple as that. In business, a conversation can, and will, make or break a deal, and for colleagues and customers to be able to properly communicate makes all the difference. Once an office space is soundproofed, employees are instantly more relaxed. Staff members feel better when working, and therefore look forward to coming to work and being in the office. Those working from home are able to hear their in-office colleagues better over video calls and teleconference meetings. Customers can clearly understand your team members, and your team members are able to leave the best impressions with customers, whether meeting in-person or over Zoom.
Improved privacy
Custom design acoustic treatment for phone booths, with honeycomb / hexagonal acoustic wall panels
Privacy issues have only become more alarming as office space design trends continue to utilize more open space layouts that naturally offer less privacy among co-workers, who may be sharing sensitive information. With better sound quality there’s no longer need for team members to speak loudly, offering increased privacy during conversations. An optimal sound environment is also critical when considering just how many meetings happen over video calls these days, a trend that is likely to continue growing in the coming years.
More effective usage of the space
Acoustic curtains create an excellent sound barrier, maximize effective usage of the office space, reduces echo and improves overall room acoustics
Proper soundproofing will allow you to use your space more effectively, allowing you more flexibility as you design and schedule work in the office space without compromising the quality of the work and the ability to offer employees an optimal work environment.
Transform the feel of your space
Custom design conference room acoustic treatment with custom shape acoustic panels
Just like the furniture and decor of your office enhance the atmosphere of the space, sound has the ability to significantly affect the energy of any room. Custom acoustical panels also offer an unlimited variety of design options that will substantially enhance the look of any room. The office will sound better, but, more importantly, FEEL better.
Unbeatable ROI
Let’s face it: Companies constantly spend valuable resources on improving the employee experience in an effort to improve productivity and remain competitive. Investing in properly soundproofing your office space offers you an unmatched, measurable ROI that will not only significantly improve your bottom line, but will also support the long term well-being of your team members by offering them an optimal working environment to thrive in.
Final thoughts
One of the most common mistakes people make once they realize the benefits of soundproofing their space is going the “do it yourself” route, without doing the research first. “There’s a lot of misinformation and bad quality products on the internet that simply don’t work” Ariel concludes. “Some DIY solutions can be helpful, especially if you are considering them for something like a home office setting. But you're always better off consulting with a professional first, before making a mistake that will not only cost you precious time, but may actually damage your space”.
