Top tips on acoustic safety at work

7 April 2009

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Providing the best working environment in an office is something every business strives for but due to lack of resources and time this can be difficult. Most companies ensure that employees have a comfortable chair, that their posture is right and that they have adequate light and indeed everyone has the right to an annual eyesight test. Yet hearing is one area of employee health that is often overlooked however.

Few companies realise that excess noise caused by a combination of voices, printers, fax machines and mobile phones all at once can contribute to increased stress levels and lower productivity as workers cannot concentrate and speak even louder in order to be heard above the hustle and bustle.

To try and address this, the European Union brought in the Noise at Work Regulations in April 2006 with the aim of protecting employees' hearing. The law states that employers must implement safety measures to keep daily average sound exposure below 85dB for their employees. However, most companies find this law confusing, difficult to implement and impossible to measure, so they often ignore it, which means that even though the Government is trying to help employees, it's not quite getting it right.

However, there are changes that can be made in your workplace to help protect your employees hearing. Follow our top tops to ensure that you have a productive and healthy workforce.

Choose the layout of your office carefully

Sitting in front of a photocopier or fax machine that is constantly beeping to inform you it is out of paper would certainly irritate even the most calm individual. Think carefully about your office layout. Consider placing all office appliances at the back of the office or in another room, so no one can hear irritating or loud sounds.
Choose an appropriate headset

If you work in a really busy and noisy environment, being on the phone can be quite difficult as you can not only hear the phone conversation but also what is being said around you. In this case, workers can benefit from using a headset. A duo headset is particularly good as it reduces background noise and ensures a crystal clear conversation. When using a duo headset, sound is directed into both ears of the user on the telephone. Employees are fully focused on calls and will not try and speak even louder in order to hear the person on the other end. If you feel more comfortable with a headset in one ear, then ensure that you get a headset with noise cancelling ability, which filters out background noise from your environment so the customer gets a pleasant experience. Also, the additional effect is that the general noise level in your office or contact centre environment will be lower.
Time it right

Consider how many hours your employees spend on the phone. Noise coming across the phone system is a main source of noise exposure and you can protect them better by choosing headsets that are compliant with the Noise at Work Regulations.
Go wireless

A good solution for a noisy environment is a wireless headset. The user can take conference calls or other lengthy conversations away from their desk, which can improve the work environment for others, as well as themselves.
The softer the better

Bouncing sound waves off hard walls and wooden floors will raise the sound levels in your office by a significant amount. Replace wood flooring with carpet and introduce some plants to help absorb ambient noise.
Separation is good

Establish a separate boardroom for all meetings, both serious and informal Unnecessary chatting between employees as they meet in the hallway can really irritate others on the telephone, so take all group conversations to a boardroom.
Shhh... silence!

A mobile phone ringing on a desk while the owner is in the boardroom in a long meeting could lead to a mobile phone through the office window! Implement a policy that ensures all employees switch their phones off if they are away from their desk for some time and this should help concentration levels to rise.

About the author

This article was provided by GN Netcom. With over 100 years experience in developing and producing a range of hearing instruments, GN Netcom provide headset solutions to help comply with the Noise at Work Regulations.

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