How to Create Quiet Zones in Your Busy Office
There’s no denying that offices aren’t the most relaxing environment. While they can seem clinical, it’s often fast-paced, and there is a lot going on across different fields.
Occasionally, it can be challenging for your team members to concentrate on specific tasks. While communication is essential, they should still have opportunities to work independently and undistracted.
In this article, we will talk about how you can create quiet zones in your busy office.
Let’s get started.
Make sections with furniture.
It’s not always possible to put up a wall to create a new area, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a functional space. With careful planning, you can use your furniture to separate areas for your employees.
Just make sure that you keep practicality in mind. For example, you don’t want to go shuffling around your couches, chairs, and tables in a way that limits your space.
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Utilize outdoor spaces.
Do you have an empty rooftop? Or a balcony without much decoration? Why not use these areas to create private outdoor spaces for your employees.
Alongside helping them escape busy and loud environments, working outside has a range of health benefits to keep their wellbeing at its very best. Just add some comfortable chairs, tables, shade, and of course, some greenery to brighten everything up.
Add indoor plants.
Speaking of greenery, did you know indoor plants can also help to reduce noise levels? It might sound strange, but placing them purposefully around your office can increase sound absorption.
They also reduce stress, improve air quality, minimize the sickness rates of your employees, and overall leave a great first impression—all the more reason to implement them into your environment.
Install adequate signage.
To ensure that your quiet spaces stay quiet, you must put up adequate signage to indicate the area is a zone for concentration. While you may not be able to eliminate distractions completely, you can make it clear that no talking is allowed.
If the space isn’t for work but breaks, making it a “tech-free” area might also be a good idea. However, it’s wise to ask your employees for input on this first.
Provide employees with noise-canceling headphones.
Finally, if you find that your employees are still getting distracted, one excellent investment is to provide them with their own set of headphones. There are even noise-canceling options out there to truly block out background sound.
You may think that it will distract them further, but being able to listen to their own music, podcasts, etc., can improve focus. Not to mention it will lessen the chance of others interrupting them unnecessarily.
Final words.
As you can see, there are quite a few helpful tips for establishing quiet zones in your busy office. So take the above into consideration, and look at your layout to see what alterations you can make. Your business will be better off because of it.