When you share offices and space with other people, it comes with the territory that you have to deal with their noise.

Noise can pose health dangers

While most people accept noise as part and parcel of work life, few realise that even low-level noise – the type of noise generated by office machines, drawers and doors being opened and shut, the phone or colleagues’ talking – can be harmful to health.

And loss of hearing is not the only risk. Experts believe noise also significantly adds to stress levels, which may lead to hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertension is one disease that has been linked with ongoing low-level noise, as has heart disease and strokes!

As outside disturbance forces us to concentrate harder at the task at hand, experts say noise also contributes to musculoskeletal disorders – people working in noisy offices tend to concentrate harder and therefore move around less, leading to body aches and pains.

Five easy ways to cut noise out

    • Raise some awareness among your colleagues and get everyone to agree to talk a bit softer, turn the radio a little down, and adjust the speakers on their computers to a lower level
    • Ensure that office equipment and furniture are maintained and serviced to prevent irritating squeaks and sounds
    • Arrange the office to allow for office machines and other noise generating equipment to be placed as far away as possible from workstations
    • Use earphones to eliminate outside noise If your work situation can accommodate this
    • Dividers are an easy, non-permanent way to establish some privacy between workstations and cut down on noise flow.

Our Employee Wellbeing Programme (EAP) is available 24 hours a day if you want to know more about the ill effects of noise .