Noise at work and in home offices

Based on research on open‑plan offices and recommendations from workplace ergonomics experts (e.g. Harvard Business Review summaries and WHO data).

Open‑plan offices, coworking spaces and improvised home workstations have become common, but they bring a new challenge: constant background noise. Studies summarised, for example, in Harvard Business Review show that noise significantly reduces concentration and quality of work.

How office noise affects productivity

Frequent interruptions and speech noise force the brain to continuously switch tasks, which increases cognitive load and error rates. Occupational health organisations such as OSHA and NIOSH highlight noise as a key factor to manage in modern workplaces.

Remote work is not always quiet

Working from home may mean sharing space with family members, neighbours or street noise. Many recommendations for office noise — zoning, quiet hours, soft materials — also apply to home offices.

Personal strategies

use good passive or active‑noise‑cancelling headphones at safe listening levels;
reserve the quietest times of day for deep‑focus tasks;
negotiate simple noise rules with colleagues or housemates.

If work‑related noise causes persistent headaches, sleep or hearing problems, seek advice from healthcare professionals. Tools like NoiseMap can help document external environmental noise sources around your office or home.