| Did you know?
The American Data Entry Management Association states that excessive
noise in the office place reduces productivity by as much as 40% and
increases data errors by as much as 38%.
The Privacy Index or PI
The Privacy Index is a benchmarked standard by the American Society of
Testing and Measuring (ASTM) for the amount of privacy from one cubicle to
another. The target rate for the PI is 80-90%. Normal offices are around
40%. Cubicles add 6%, 90 NRC ceilings add 8% and Sound Masking adds 30%!
0-70 PI - No privacy at all
70-80 PI - Transitional privacy
80-94 PI - Normal privacy (where you want to be)
95-99 PI - Confidentiality
American Society of Interior Design (ASID) Case Study
Over a three-year period, tens of thousands of people were interviewed from
the participating companies:
- Blue Shield of California
- Ford Motorland Services Corporation
- Honeywell
- IBM Canada
- ATCO International
- Navy Federal Credit Union
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The results were astonishing!
- 71% of workers surveyed reported that noise was the number one
distraction in the open plan office workplace (followed by air quality at
20% and lighting at 9%).
- 73% of the workers surveyed reported that conversational noise was the
leading cause of acoustical dissatisfaction and stress in the workplace
- 81% of workers reported that they could get more work accomplished if
their workplace was quieter.
- 82% of all upper management did not feel there was a problem!
Sound Masking's Return on Investment is Almost Immediate!
With only a 5% increase in productivity, return on investment is only 2
weeks! The average expected increase of productivity is 15 to 35%.
It's Only Getting Worse
Trends are towards smaller cubicles, higher floor density of employees, and
voice activated computers. Add these distractions to loud conversation,
speaker phones, musical cell phones and fax machines and you have a recipe
for noise distraction which leads to employee stress, overtime, and
turnover.
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