One thing we’ve learned from our work-from-home arrangement in the time of COVID-19 is how much we’ve taken our former workspaces for granted. While being closer with family members is a silver lining in this pandemic, working amidst the distractions of home is not for everyone.

You know what we’re talking about. Barking dogs; crying kids; the TV leaking from the other room; family members entering the room every five minutes—the list goes on. You always find yourself worrying about the next Zoom meeting because of the noises that could disrupt your call. You can’t focus on even the simplest work tasks at hand. At some moments, you really wished you were at an office, coffee shop, or any other place designed for optimal productivity. It gets tougher when you realize that productivity and focus are needed the most during this crazy time.

Most of us have no choice. Even if quarantine measures continue to ease, many of us will still work from home, either for our own safety or because our companies are still reevaluating their office contracts. 

We don’t know when this pandemic will end. But we can adapt through efficient and sustainable investments like home acoustic treatments. Noise reduction interiors will not only protect your family’s health, it could help make your home an adequate substitute to your former workspace.

Here are three reasons why proper sound design at home will bring the productivity you need in this time of COVID:

1) Clearer communication

Communication is important to an organization’s success. With online meetings becoming a major way of communicating with teammates and clients, the efficiency of our work can suffer when we aren’t heard loud and clear. This is why it’s important to manage not just background noises, but untreated room acoustics that can make rooms louder than necessary.

Zoom has discussed how sound treatment helps optimize the online conference experience. With acoustic panels, microphones are able to “hear the source more directly and diminish the sound artifacts that may be residual in the room.” Acoustic panels also play a major role in the premium quality of call centers, as they help control unwanted levels of background noise, greatly improving speech intelligibility.

With home being your new office space, investing in acoustic panels will help make a difference to your day-to-day communication. As we navigate through a time of social distancing, being clear and intelligible is essential to keep operations going.

2) Better focus

There have been many scientific studies confirming how excessive noise can cause disruption and stress, ultimately leading to a decrease in the productivity of office workers. 

In a study by British Gypsum, respondents remarked that the main office distractions were people talking on the phone (64%) and office chit-chat (76%). These noises were enough to decrease accuracy of work by 67%. If productivity in offices can easily suffer from these sounds, what more when you’re working from home, where noise is more unrestrained?

After reducing noise through acoustic treatments, British Gypsum reported that the ability to focus increased by 48%, while distraction levels and stress symptoms decreased by 51% and 27% respectively. 

Acoustic panels and tiles can have a large effect on one’s productivity levels. They could be just what you need to concentrate in a rowdy home.

3) Stronger brainpower

Noise reduction interiors can get you closer to silence. And silence can be good for your brain.

One interesting study published in the journal Brain, Structure and Function found that, when exposed to silence for two hours everyday, mice developed new cells in their hippocampus—the region of our brain associated with memory and learning. One of the researchers, Imke Kirste, found that silence was "really helping the new generated cells to differentiate into neurons, and integrate into the system." This means that silence could actually enhance our brain’s functions.

By investing in practices like proper sound treatment at home, you could keep your brain in good shape. And we all need a well-functioning brain to make the best decisions and strategies in this uncertain climate.

Keep Your Home Workspace Noiseless

Noiseless offers many options to acoustically treat your home. With products that worked well with call centers, libraries, and board rooms, Noiseless can help bring the productive aura of former workspaces into your own home.

Our Element panels are a great and stylish way to start your home office’s sound treatment. Rather than being limited to the typical square and rectangular shapes, these acoustic absorbers are hexagonal with beveled edges, allowing them to be installed in unique patterns and clusters. With Element panels, you can control excess noise through an acoustic treatment layout personalized to your home office space.

Noise is not only dangerous to your health; it can stop you from doing a better job, further ruining your chances of bouncing back from this pandemic. Explore our site now, and let us know how we can help you get the productive space you deserve!