Workplace distraction is making it difficult for employees to get their work done, according to a new report released by commercial flooring company Interface.
Noise negatively impacts a majority (69%) of global employees’ concentration levels, productivity, and creativity. The finding comes from a survey of more than 2,000 adult workers in the U.S., U.K., and Australia by Radius Global Market Research.
For about half of the respondents, noise levels in an office would impact their decision to accept a job. Some 16% of those surveyed choose to work remotely due to unsolved noise problems. Top distractions include conversations among employees, phone conversations, phones ringing, and people walking around.
Open work environments seem to be part of the problem. Nearly one-third (32%) of employees surveyed report working at an assigned desk or workstation in an open environment. Only 31% of all respondents indicate that employers provide private spaces for phone calls or conversations.
“The best designs are those rooted in solutions specific to company culture, environmental aspirations, and respect for individual user choice,” says Chip DeGrace, vice president of workplace applications, Interface.
Related Stories
| Nov 9, 2012
Higher bar on LEED may not be harder to reach
The U.S. Green Building Council expects to substantially revise LEED next year, requiring builders beginning in 2015 to take new and more-detailed steps to get buildings certified.
| Nov 9, 2012
CSI’s sustainability practice group offers webinar on EPA's WaterSense Program
The Construction Specification Institute’s sustainability practice group is offering a webinar Nov. 20 on EPA’s WaterSense Program, featuring Lynn Gilleland, drinking water specialist with EPA’s New England office.
| Nov 9, 2012
Mayor in Calif. wants to expedite permits for $1B worth of projects
The mayor of San Jose, Calif., plans to issue new construction permits worth an estimated $1 billion in the next six months to spur job creation and create revenue for the city.
| Nov 9, 2012
Jury awards N.Y. roofer $2 million for injuries after construction site fall
A roofing worker from Cortland County, N.Y., has been awarded $2 million in damages due to the injuries he sustained from a 60-foot fall at a dormitory construction site.
| Oct 31, 2012
Investigators look into crane severely damaged by Sandy in Manhattan
Investigators are examining a construction crane collapse atop a $1.5 billion luxury high-rise in midtown Manhattan due to high winds during Hurricane Sandy.
| Oct 31, 2012
Construction error suspected in Miami-Dade College garage collapse
A construction error is the chief suspect in the partial collapse of a parking garage at Miami-Dade College in Doral, FL.
| Oct 31, 2012
New European laws on timber will go into effect in March 2013
A new European Union timber regulation prohibits the “placing on the market of illegally harvested timber or timber products derived from such timber.”
| Oct 31, 2012
MIT models show roofs' capacity for solar energy in Cambridge, Mass.
A new mapping tool from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Boston design firm can calculate rooftops' capacity for solar energy.
| Oct 31, 2012
Demand for living roofs, walls to reach $7.7 billion by 2017
The demand for green roofs and living walls is expected to climb from $5.3 billion in 2011 to $7.7 billion in 2017, according to a report from Lux Research.
