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Office Sound Masking 101: Solutions for Busy Work Spaces

Man in noisy office trying to take a phone call.

 

Modern office design is laser-focused on one thing: optimizing set and setting for an improved community feel to maximize worker efficiency. The obvious solution is large, open spaces where office employees feel more together. After all, we are communal creatures and thrive when surrounded by others rather than when alone. Surely being free from the separation of cubicles will breed a more vibrant office community that will pull out the best of work. Obvious indeed – in theory.

Although such large, open floor office plans are already employed at the Apple’s, Meta’s, and Google’s of the world, and under construction by hundreds of others, the truth of the matter is this seemingly obvious theory doesn’t hold up in the real world. As it turns out, employees are less productive in such environments because open office floor plans create a cacophony of noise. One study polled 2000 employees who worked in open office spaces and found that 60% were unable to concentrate due to the noise! In effect, modern open-floor plan office design meant to increase productivity reduces productivity. Oops.

Recently, a customer called me facing this dilemma; Her small company had been growing to the point that it was time for a legitimate office, so they renovated a space following the theory that a large, open-floor plan was the ticket to the next phase of growth and success. Once complete with the employees working, she didn’t need studies to know that something was wrong: she could hear it. The open floor plan had, in effect, created a cave where all of the many sounds of the office were echoing and reverberating throughout the space. She said she had trouble even talking with her employees due to the distraction, knowing full-well that was what they were facing all workday long. She called asking me if there was an acoustical solution, because renovating again or moving was simply not an option. Thankfully for her, there is a solution, one that can quickly and completely solve this entire issue: sound masking.

In this article, I’ll explain how sound masking works, how it differs from white noise, and techniques and products you can employ to achieve the goal of a modern, open-floor office plan that actually improves workplace efficiency.

What is Sound Masking?

Sound masking is an acoustical technique that uses ambient sounds to balance, or “cancel”, the distracting sounds of an office. At first, this seems illogical: adding sound to reduce distracting sounds? Why would adding sounds make the situation better? To understand this, I like the following analogy:

If you’ve ever gone hiking in a forest, you’ll likely have experienced the wonderful sounds of nature – perhaps the #1 reason for hiking in the first place. Birds twittering and singing, the crunch of leaves underfoot, babbling brooks, and wind rustling leaves still on the trees. All of these sounds create a magical peace, even though it seems like it should be noisy, in theory. Compare this to times when you’ve camped in the forest and experienced one of those eerie nights where all is still and dead quiet. The same forest, but a totally different experience – a jarring experience.

Although this analogy isn’t perfect, I find that it helps understand the office and sound masking. In the office, our ears (and thus minds) face the sounds of keyboards, crumpling paper, people walking, people talking, music, squeaky chairs, coffee machines, etc. – all of this jarring and distracting, like when a massive forest is dead quiet while you’re trying to sleep. What sound masking does is add specific ambient noise to this scenario so that the jarring sounds are balanced and the effect is a more peaceful acoustic setting – like the peace of a “loud” forest with many different noises. By adding the right sounds, there is no need to remove the bad ones, because the right sounds create a cohesive overall sound.

How Sound Masking Differs from White Noise

Likely you’ve heard of white noise, an artificial sound often used therapeutically as a sleep aid. While there are other, better noises (specifically ones that imitate the peaceful sounds of nature), it can be effective to provide some comfort and/or a distraction. You would think then that putting up a bunch of white noise machines is the answer to this acoustical office dilemma.

Unfortunately, white noise in this scenario just adds to the problem. With sound masking, specific frequencies are utilized that are tuned for human speech. Unlike white noise, sound masking is meant to be dynamic, meaning it fluctuates and thus provides a more thorough weave of sounds to balance the distracting sounds in the office. To use our forest example again, imagine on your hike you have the sound of a waterfall in your ear the entire time. While the sounds of a waterfall are nice when you pass by one, or as it is blended into other forest sounds, it is very specific, which means distracting. You wouldn’t want that sound following you around for hours on end.

This is analogous to why white noise isn’t helpful in this scenario, as you and your employees will quickly discern the white noise and it will just become another bothersome sound. Instead, sound masking is designed to be “invisible,” such that the specific frequencies played in a dynamic manner meld with other sounds to craft an overall acoustic peace.

Ideal Sound Masking Systems

Lencore Sound Masking System For Offices i.Net Quad Op

Lencore Sound Masking System For Offices i.Net Quad Op

For a truly powerful sound masking system to solve the unwanted cacophony of sound in open office settings, I recommend the Lencore sound masking system. Lencore’s Green Sound™ is engineered to be the most comfortable sound masking solution in the industry. The system is highly customizable no matter your office layout, and can be utilized from small rooms and private offices up to large office spaces at 1.5 million square feet.

Desktop Sound Masking System - Black

Desktop Sound Masking System – Black

In addition to office-wide sound masking systems, it’s also possible to have white noise-machine sized sound masking to handle smaller spaces. I love the Desktop Sound Masking System for just this purpose, an option that is as easy to install as setting it on the desk and plugging it in.

The Importance of Sound Absorption in Tandem with Sound Masking

The reason why sound masking is becoming more prevalent is directly because of open floor plan offices. Interestingly, those crummy cubicles everyone loves to hate served a very, very important purpose: they absorbed sound. The same is true of ceiling tiles, another office feature we love to hate! Ever notice the composition of cubicles and ceiling tiles? Soft and a little squishy when pushed? That kind of material is fantastic at absorbing reverberation and echo, and even cutting down sound transmission some, meaning that in tandem they helped offices to wrangle their sounds as well as partition open floor plans. Specifically, when you get rid of cubicles in favor of desks, you have effectively removed a massive amount of sound absorption material, and have, in effect, created a cave. If your open floor plan features a loft-style, open ceiling, you’re in real trouble. All of that space and all of the hard surfaces of desks and typically concrete ceilings create a perfect storm of reverb and echo that will amplify the already unwanted sounds. It will also make the best and more elaborate sound masking systems less effective than they could be.

The solution here is to employ sound absorption materials to control the echo and reverb, even in open office floor plans, so that sound masking systems have the proper acoustic foundation to get to work. My go-to sound absorption product solution is AlphaSorb® Fabric Wrapped Acoustic Panels. These acoustic panels feature a fiberglass core – the best, most effective sound absorbing material – covered with premium Guilford of Maine acoustic fabric to offer a large array of aesthetic options. AlphaSorb acoustic panels are easily hung on walls to offer industry-leading reductions in echo and reverb.

Depending on your office, it may also be advisable to utilize suspended sound absorption products if you have cavernous ceilings. AlphaSorb® Fabric Wrapped Acoustic Ceiling Clouds and AlphaSorb® Fabric Wrapped Sound Baffle are two fantastic solutions that, in combination with acoustic panels hung on walls, will dramatically absorb echo and reverb, while also providing a modern visual aesthetic.

What About Soundproofing?

Sound absorption and soundproofing are the two core techniques utilized to improve acoustics. They are distinctly different and are often confused due to their naming conventions. To make it easier to understand, I prefer their synonyms: sound control and sound blocking. As detailed above, sound absorption, or sound control is a technique utilized to tone and craft better sound by eliminating unwanted characteristics like echo and reverb. Soundproofing, on the other hand, is meant to block sound.
While sound absorption and sound masking are partners to achieve the aims of a better acoustic environment, soundproofing may prove useful in the office in specific applications. For example, executive offices and conference rooms may want to be acoustically isolated so that sounds from without cannot frustrate activity within, and important sound from within cannot be heard from without. Click here to learn more about soundproofing techniques and products to achieve these types of goals.

Truly Achieve Improved Office Efficiency with Sound Masking Systems and Sound Absorption Products from Acoustical Solutions

Acoustics are so important that they can literally decide whether your office workforce is more efficient and effective. By employing a powerful sound masking system, you can completely eliminate the acoustic issues that cause more dire consequences bred by open office settings.

At Acoustical Solutions, we offer what we think is the best sound masking system in the industry, as well as a host of industry-leading sound absorption and soundproofing products to craft the perfect acoustic foundation for sound masking to be as effective as possible.

To learn more about how sound masking can optimize your office atmosphere and workforce, reach out to me today!


To learn more about how Acoustical Solutions can solve your noise control problems, use our contact form, call one of our Acoustical Sales Consultants at (800) 782-5742, or visit us on the web at acousticalsolutions.com.

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