Performance, psychological, and physiological effects of office noise

Abstract

Speech is a common disturbance in offices. Irrelevant speech influences performance and subjective estimations. However, not many studies have examined simultaneously the consequences of irrelevant speech on humans regarding physiological, performance, and psychological aspects. All these aspects were examined in this study. The influence of irrelevant speech (65dB) compared to silence (35dB) was examined in a between-group laboratory experiment. Twenty-one subjects participated in the speech group and 19 subjects in the silence group. Sound conditions lasted for 50 minutes. Participants’ performance, subjective experience, and various physiological stress measures (e.g., stress hormone level from plasma, and heart rate variability) were examined. Compared to the silence group, the speech group had lower performance and higher physiological stress level. Working during speech was rated to be more annoying and increasing workload, but less tiring than silence. Therefore, the influence of irrelevant speech should be minimized in offices, where work requiring concentration is needed.