Recent study: multi-storey office noise problems transnational but solvable

Globally, the biggest indoor environmental problem in open offices is noise from colleagues. However, this problem can be solved by investing in room acoustics and soundproof office cubicles.

– More and more front-line workers are now wondering how to get employees back into the office. That’s why we set up a large-scale project to answer the question of how to make offices more attractive,” explains Valtteri Hongisto, Research Group Leader and leader of the study.

The research group of Turku University of Applied Sciences, Building Technology, conducted a global baseline study on how different types of offices, such as open offices or study rooms, are perceived as suitable for office work. It also looked at how noise, lighting, air quality or thermal conditions are perceived in different types of offices. More than 85 000 workers in ten countries responded to the survey. The most common cause of dissatisfaction was thermal conditions. This was followed by noise. The problems with heat conditions were similar across office types, while noise problems were more pronounced in open offices.

– In open offices, therefore, we need to invest in acoustics and the way we use the space so that noise pollution is kept under control,” Hongisto summarises.

This finding led to an investigation of Finnish offices. New offices in Finland are often multi-space offices, with different types of space for different types of work. Open offices are usually accompanied by rooms or office cubicles that can be booked separately. The study was carried out in four companies that moved to a multi-tenant office. The companies had around 1000 employees and were located in Turku, Helsinki and Lempäälä. Satisfaction with the working environment was higher if the person was satisfied with the sound environment, visual privacy, amount of space, ease of interaction and changing space, functionality of equipment and cleanliness of the space. Women were more satisfied with their working environment than men. Pre-employed people were also more satisfied with their workspace than others. Satisfaction with the sound environment explained almost half of the satisfaction with the working environment.

– As noise is a key problem both globally and in Finland, we also conducted laboratory tests to find out the effects of different noise abatement measures on people’s work performance and well-being,” says Hongisto.

Office cubicles solve the rest of the noise problems

The tests showed that the room acoustics should be designed to at least the same level as required by Finnish regulations, as worse room acoustics will reduce work efficiency. The same result was obtained in Germany, where half of the tests were carried out. In addition, room acoustics above the regulations clearly improved the working experience. Good room acoustics means that the amount of sound-absorbing materials on room surfaces and screens is as high as possible, that there is sufficient speech masking sound in the room and that the floor is covered with soft textile flooring. This will radically reduce the disturbance of speech in open offices.

Office cubicles are a new way to provide quiet workspaces and add privacy to conversations in any space. A survey in an office in Oulu, Finland, showed that adding office cubicles to the office improved satisfaction with privacy. A follow-up laboratory test showed that working in a cubicle with the best sound class A resulted in better work performance and lower stress levels than if there were no cubicles at all.

– The main results of our project show that the sound environment is a major problem in today’s offices. However, there is evidence that these problems can be tackled. In multi-tenant offices, it is worth using the best possible noise control products, as only these can deliver significant improvements in work performance and experience,” underlines Hongisto.

The results were obtained in the international project “MOTTI – indoor environment and well-being in offices”, carried out by the Built Environment Research Group of Turku University of Applied Sciences.

The article was published on our previous turkuamk.fi website on 30.10.2024.

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