Noise Pollution in the Office

What is Noise Pollution 

The traditional definition of noise is “unwanted or distributing sound”.1 Noise can affect our daily life more than you would think. One’s overall health could be affected by encountering noise pollution frequently. Noise pollution affects humans and other living organisms that have regular exposure to elevated sound levels and may be harmful. Studies have shown that there are direct links between noise and health.1 Some of the health effects of noise pollution include stress-related illness, high blood pressure, speech interference, hearing loss, sleep distribution, and lost productivity.1 

The Effects Noise has on the Office 

Noise is everywhere and is something that rarely can be avoided. In an office, there will always be distracting sounds, such as ringing, talking, and being affected by outside noise. A study has shown that 69% of employees globally get impacted by noise pollution, which causes their concentration, productivity, and creativity to get lower.2 Noise pollution in the office decreases work productivity and can cause the health issues that were mentioned above and can include headaches, elevated blood pressure, fatigue, irritability, digestive disorder, and increased susceptibility to colds and other minor infections.3

 In an office with noise pollution, there is a higher chance of damage to your hearing. The hearing damage depends on how long you are exposed to the frequency and loudness of the noise. The noise measurement is based on the loudness and gets measured in decibels. Though each person has different noise sensitivity, experts believe hearing damage occurs when the noise levels are higher than 85 decibels.3 The risk of hearing is based on loudness and exposure. Therefore, reducing as little as 12 decibels in noise can help concentration.  

RadGreen is Here to Help

Using our one-stop environmental management solution, your office space can be optimized and have solutions for improving your air quality, thermal comfort, noise levels, light parameters, and viral index. As a result, RadGreen can help boost productivity, comfort, and concentration in an office affected by noise. 

Resources

1https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/clean-air-act-title-iv-noise-pollution 
2https://www.metrikus.io/blog/noise-pollution-is-killing-your-productivity-what-can-you-do-about-it 
3https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/workplace-safety-noise-pollution