Creating more space for productive, calming sound in the workplace

Not all sound in the office is created equal. When open floorplans became popular in the 1960s, employees were subjected to a constant din of phone calls, clacking keyboards, and side conversations. Over the years this racket has taken its toll both on people’s health and productivity, with chronic noise proven to increase blood pressure and heart rate, while long-term exposure affects people’s overall emotional well-being.?

Work-from-home gave many employees a break from office noise. As they migrate back to workplaces, companies can leverage spatial – or immersive – sound to create more ideal environments that lower stress, boost productivity, and support different work styles.?

You likely experience spatial sound in your home with surround-sound stereo systems that flow sound around you to create a 3D audio experience. Now, it’s unlikely an employer will power up surround-sound in the office. But applied technologies found in headphones can acoustically isolate sound while canceling out disruptive background noise.?

Spatial sound solutions go beyond individual preferences. A University of Windsor study revealed that the use of background music in the workplace improves employee mood and enhances perception, while people working without music generated the lowest quality work and took longer to complete tasks.?

It’s not all about music, though. Some employers are tailoring audio environments around the types of spaces in which people work. Using sound libraries and customized software, business owners can pipe in biophilic sounds such as crashing ocean waves, a popping campfire, or sweet birdsongs. Nature sounds have been shown to subconsciously calm the mind.?

For hybrid work environments, spatial sound is critical to making remote employees feel as if they’re sitting in an on-site conference room. New videobar devices use beam-steering microphones that actively focus on voices, create exclusion zones to remove — or ignore — unwanted noise, and automatically calibrate to provide optimized sound for all participants, regardless of location.?

Thanks to COVID-19, the way we work has evolved dramatically. Employees expect flexibility in where, when, and how they work. And it’s become second nature for hybrid and remote work to connect employees on a global scale every day. The use of spatial strategies can bridge any remaining gaps by emphasizing sounds that reduce employee stress and increase focus and productivity, while limiting the noise that might create communication challenges.?

Does your business use spatial sound to improve productivity and support employee well-being? Or is it more likely that people manage this on an individual basis using headphones? Let me know what you think.?

#meetingequity #spatialsound #boseprofessional?