Insights

Sound Masking – What is it and what is the benefit?

As the need or desire for open workspaces has evolved in the UK sound masking is becoming an increasingly popular solution to a very real problem.

The traditional office environment comprising of compartmentalised rooms is now, in most cases, a thing of the past. Our teams now tend to work from a centralised office space, in the hope that inter-sectional collaboration and team-work are increased. We often rely on privacy dividers to keep our employee’s visual attention focused on their own workspace. But what about keeping audio attention on the task to hand?

In an open-plan office the volume of activity is largely increased, quite simply more employees mean more conversation which makes for more opportunity for distraction. The clarity of a conversation, however, can be a huge factor in whether the brain chooses to engage in distraction. The clarity of a conversation can largely be down how much background noise is present.

Enter Sound Masking…

What is Sound Masking?

Sound Masking is the process of adding unobtrusive ‘pink noise’ into the background of a busy environment to mask or decrease a presenting distraction by reducing how intelligible it is.

Sound masking is achieved through a loudspeaker system encased in or mounted on the ceiling. The speaker system omits inconspicuous sound into the environment effectively making the ambient sound level more uniform and muffling distractions such as nearby conversations, machine noise, and external disturbance.

Often used in public buildings, noisy work environments and large open offices the benefits include improved staff productivity, protection of confidentiality and the increased well-being of employees.

What can MSI do to help?

MSI work with the best technologies on the market and facilitate the design and installation of a sound masking system which fits the needs of any space.

For a visual representation of how sound masking can transform your working environment follow this link: https://youtu.be/ngq5J0u7Nus and as always feel free to get in touch with us by telephone on 0191 276 2076 or by email to admin@msiaudiosystems.com.