businessinfomag.uk
magazine
16
In survey after survey office workers
complain about noisy colleagues
and distractions. A new study by
Jabra,
Productivity at the Office
– Challenges 2015
, claims that
employees experience as many as 17
interruptions every day. These range
from unnecessary (and badly managed)
meetings to inquisitive colleagues.
An on-going problem is background
noise in open plan offices. Almost half
(46%) of those questioned for Jabra’s
study describe noise levels as the most
distracting issue in the office today.
Distractions have a knock-on effect
on productivity, as it takes time to
recover from interruptions and re-focus
on the task in hand.
In the Q2 2015 issue of
Leesman
Review
, acoustician Colin Rawlings of
Acoustics by Design suggests that we
lose 10 to 15 minutes of concentrated
work every time we are interrupted by
a person talking, a banging door or an
annoying ringtone, with serious knock-
on effects on productivity.
A 2013 study by the University
of California, Irvine and Humboldt
University, Berlin (
The Cost of Interrupted
Work: More Speed and Stress
) reaches
a different conclusion. It suggests that
interrupted work is completed faster,
as employees change working habits to
compensate for time lost. Productivity
is not adversely affected, but the greater
workload leads to increased levels of
stress and frustration.
Longer hours
There is clear evidence that people are
working longer hours. Jabra’s research
shows that more than a third (36%) of
office workers are having to work longer
to complete their workload, while a new
study by Regus finds nearly a fifth (17%)
of employees work at least 15 additional
hours every week, with 57% putting in
an extra six hours.
Such coping mechanisms might
maintain productivity levels for a time,
but they are not a long-term solution.
Sooner or later the extra workload will
exact a price, typically through mental
health problems and presenteeism –
people coming in to work when ill. In a
recent survey by CIPD and Simplyhealth,
41% of organisations (51% in the
public sector) reported an increase in
Headsets can help minimise distractions in open plan offices, reports James Goulding
If you can keep your head...
stress-related absence from work, with
workload cited as the biggest cause.
Nearly one in three (31%) said that in
the last 12 months they had seen an
increase in presenteeism.
Fixing the problem
Instead of passively accepting the status
quo, there is much that businesses can
do to alleviate the problem. Flexible
working is one option, giving people
the ability to work at home away from
distractions when peace and quiet is
required to complete a task that requires
deep concentration.
Providing a variety of workspaces
so that diverse tasks can be completed
without disturbing, or without being
disturbed by, others is another effective
solution. However, it is one that many
Headsets for a better working environment
The Environment Agency is standardising
on Sennheiser headsets and speakerphones
for office-based and mobile employees, as
it makes the transition from traditional
PSTN communications to Voice over IP
(VoIP) Unified Communications.
Following an extensive trial of headsets
and speakerphones, it chose the SC 660
dual-sided headset with HD voice quality and
noise cancellation for office professionals;
the PRESENCE hands-free Bluetooth headset
for mobile workers; and the SP 20 portable
speakerphone for use in the office and when
travelling.
Ben Thomas, Project Manager for the
Environment Agency, said that Sennheiser
excelled in a number of key areas.
“Comfort was a key criteria, with many
staff attending to calls throughout the day.
A warranty period that reflects the
company’s confidence in its product is a
reassuring advantage.We also decided to look
at the technology used in the build of the
product, at the individual components, and
make a judgement based on that,” he said.
“Battery life was a very big factor.
Often you find that what the manufacturer
says it is and what it actually is are very
different, and during our own tests we did
find some significant differences between
manufacturers’ claims. Similarly, charge time
is important – the speed of charge between
calls.”
Thomas added: “Due to the nature of
our business, we took a strong look at
environmental considerations, including
packaging, the materials that come with
the device, fittings, the background of how
the company operates and a number of
other criteria. Sennheiser came out head
and shoulders above the rest – they package
products only with what you need and, of
course, the packaging itself is fully recycled.”
Plantronics has designed its new Voyager Focus UC Bluetooth
headset for enterprise workers in open plan offices and other
noisy environments. Active noise-cancellation technology
blocks out low frequency sounds, like air conditioners, as well
as keyboard clatter and conversations.
JABRA.CO.UK
PRODUCTIVITYAT THEOFFICE
- CHALLENGES 2015
Continued....
Headsets
