Open-plan offices remain the dominant layout, and the dominant complaint about them is noise. Sound masking is the cheapest evidence-backed fix - and you can test it on a single workstation before committing to anything bigger.
A Quick Fix for Open Office Noise
Remember when every summer had its signature song? Well, this year, according to the internet, we have no iconic summer anthem, so the biggest pop culture topic is still Labubus.
My goal was to find a not-so-scary picture of Labubus. I don't think I succeeded.
Anyhoo, since we're already on the topic of sounds, here's a little tip to help drown out the usual noise of the open office.
Study after study shows that all that background chatter and general office noise can seriously hurt productivity. Which sucks, because-surprise surprise-when you're at work, you kind of need to be productive.
Some offices now use a technique called sound masking. It's based on covering distracting noise with nature-inspired sounds like rain, birds chirping, or flowing water. Plus, they also:
🔉 Makes background chatter 80-90% less understandable
🔉 Helps you focus
🔉 Lowers stress levels and boosts calm
I mix our own office soundscape using Noisli. Give it a try.
What Sound Masking Actually Is
Sound masking is the technique of adding a low-level, broadband background sound (usually engineered to match the frequency profile of human speech) to a workspace, so that overheard conversations become harder to follow. It's not noise cancellation - the noise is still there - the brain just stops being able to lock onto distant voices. The research behind it goes back decades. A widely-cited 2008 University of Sydney study found that workers in open-plan offices lost an average of 28 minutes per day to overheard conversations alone. Subsequent acoustics research from companies like Cambridge Sound Management and Logison has shown that engineered sound masking can reduce speech intelligibility from "fully understandable" to "background blur" in tested rooms - effectively the 80-90% range Lisa cites above, when measured by the standard Speech Privacy Index. The tradeoff is that sound masking won't help with very loud or sudden noises (slammed doors, loud calls right next to you); for those, acoustic absorption (panels, soft furniture, carpet) still does more work.
How to Try It Without a Big Investment
Start at your own desk. Apps like Noisli, myNoise, or even YouTube's brown-noise channels let you test the effect with headphones in under five minutes.
Upgrade to a small Bluetooth speaker. One speaker per focus zone is usually enough to cover a 4-6 person area.
Add absorption before adding masking. A few felt acoustic panels on the loudest wall do more for a small office than any speaker system.
Avoid music with lyrics. The brain still tries to parse the words, which defeats the purpose.
For larger offices, get a quote on professional sound masking before redoing your floorplan. A full system runs roughly €1.50-€3 per square foot - much cheaper than re-walling the space.
