Silence Is Golden: 5 Benefits of a Quiet Working Environment

The expression “Speech is silver, silence is golden” probably originated in Arabic culture over a millennium ago. It turns out whoever said it knew what they were talking about.

Humans need a quiet working environment, at least some of the time, to perform at their best at work. According to the Cleveland Clinic, silence can help to improve focus and cognition - skills every office worker needs to thrive. Moments of quiet and solitude can also help people cope with the stresses and stimulation inherent to the office environment.

Let’s dig a bit deeper into how jobs with quiet working environments take individuals and companies to the next level.

1. Reduces Distractions

People are more distracted than ever. On average, Brits check their phones every 12 minutes, giving them lots of things to discuss. From celebrity goss to personal concerns, there’s always something to share with the person sitting next to you.

Whether work-related or frivolous, chatter can disrupt the thought processes of the most diligent workers. When it all gets too much, it’s important to have somewhere to retreat to that’s calm, quiet, and conducive to work. If you’ve got a spare conference room handy, that could be the solution. However, soundproof office pods that block out the office hubbub are even better.

2. Supports Effective Communication

Have you ever been trying hard to listen to your colleague but been incredibly distracted by someone else’s conversation? A noisy working environment means this can happen all too often, and the results are frustrating for both sides. Your colleague could feel offended that you’re not listening, and you’ll miss out on receiving vital information.

Telling everyone else to pipe down is rarely the solution. But if a conversation is worth having, you need to find a quiet space. Retreating into a Zoom room or office pod for a few moments of peace can help you both to communicate without distractions. You’ll find that you’re able to collaborate more easily without the frustration of hearing about someone’s weekend exploits.

3. Boost Your Creativity

In our society, the ability to multitask is often highly prized. The thought of slowing down and concentrating on a single task could seem like a questionable use of time. However, those quiet moments are exactly what we need. When our brain is bombarded with thinking about a hundred things at once, we’re very unlikely to come up with the creative, innovative solutions that we could have if we were focused.

We’ve all heard about writers retreating to cabins in the woods to produce their magnum opuses. Why? Because sometimes, the optimum working environment noise level is zero. It lets your brain switch off from mundane concerns and focus on being creative. Studies back this up, showing that working in silence boosts creativity in many situations.

Of course, there are other times when collaboration is essential to get the creative juices flowing. But providing quiet spaces in your office can allow you to harness the best of both worlds, keeping your workers calm, happy, and productive.

4. Promotes Good Mental Health

Busy office environments can be overstimulating, to say the least. Phones going off and loud conversations in person or online can make us want to run for the hills. This is especially true if our colleagues are gradually returning to the office environment after a few years in relative isolation.

Giving people a quiet space to retreat to when it all gets too much can be a huge bonus. It shows that you care about the mental and emotional well-being of every member of staff. Psych Central reports that just two minutes of silence can be as refreshing as listening to relaxing music because of its beneficial effects on blood pressure and circulation. For some colleagues, occasionally working in a quiet environment, like a soundproof booth, could be a gamechanger. It may make the difference between office life being sustainable or completely overwhelming.

One of the benefits of individual soundproof phone booths is that they create moments of alone time. It’s clear that when a colleague goes into one, they need some time to be alone to gather their thoughts or just work without distraction. Their plug-and-play design means that they’re a dream to install and can fit into almost any office environment.

5. Uninterrupted Working

Distractions may be largely avoidable (with serious effort), but interruptions can totally disrupt our concentration. Of course, some interruptions are inevitable. The problem is if we’re constantly interrupted, it can seriously impact what we get done in the day and even the way we work.

A study by the University of California, Irvine found that interruptions caused the following changes in working behaviour:

• Workers develop ways of working faster, not better
• They experience a higher workload
• They’re more frustrated
• They experience more time pressure

So speed is not always a good thing. To enable your team members to produce the best quality work they can, quiet spaces where they can work without being interrupted are essential.

Creating a Quiet Working Environment

Let’s face it, jobs with quiet working environments are few and far between. And achieving one all of the time is a goal that you will not - and probably shouldn’t - aspire to reach. After all, we need to communicate, and ideas can start flowing when the conversation gets going. That said, there is something every business can do to provide oases of calm and quiet whatever is happening in the main office.

The answer is acoustic booths. Adding a few of these phone box-sized sanctuaries to your office allows your workers to get away from it all whenever they need to. They’re perfect for important calls or just when you need to get your head down without distractions. Larger office booths and meeting pods allow small groups to get together and work away from the fray.

At Soundbox Store, we supply high-quality, plug-and-play acoustic booths to suit every office situation. Ready to give your team the quiet working environment they need to thrive? Browse our range or call us on 020 4586 3800 to discuss your specific requirements.