As the buzz returns to offices, efforts are underway to make sure noise doesn’t interfere with productivity.

Firms are calling staff back to the office with ever increasing frequency. It seems to be working, as JLL’s global research shows more of us are in the office more often, at least three days per week for 79% of office workers, up from 55% in 2022.

Yet against this increasingly buzzing backdrop, noise levels could be stopping companies from seeing the productivity boost they’re hoping for.

“Health and wellbeing have the biggest impact on an individual’s cognitive ability,” says Emma Hendry, People Experience Managing Director for JLL Consulting. “The physical, digital and built environment factors must combine to offer the best possible experience, or you’ll see productivity decline.”

JLL’s latest global survey ‘Is hybrid really working?’ found 58% of employees still consider their home environment superior for focused work, while 45% believe it better supports their overall productivity. More than a quarter cited office noise and inability to focus as a reason to work from home.

The increase in shared spaces could be adding to the hubbub. Many employers have already adapted workplaces to create more social and collaboration space, while 69% have moved to a mix of assigned and shared desks.

“Workers are now more demanding of the levels of comfort they expect from the office,” says Flore Pradere, Head of Research for JLL Work Dynamics, “and while collaboration is key, we cannot neglect the fact that people still spend over half their time on individual work.”

“We found that Generation X (those aged 35-44) are more frustrated than Boomers or Gen Y & Z, with poor office acoustics and lack of privacy,” says Pradere. “They desperately need ‘me’ rather than ‘we’ spaces, to focus on the workload that comes with their managerial responsibilities.”

With managers stuck in the middle trying to keep the C-suite and their teams happy, Hendry says this cohort is also experiencing the most burnout. “Designing offices with a diversity of spaces suitable for different types of work is extraordinarily important in empowering individuals to be productive throughout their day,” she says.

This can include pods, phone booths and other enclosures, as well as using innovative sound-insulating furnishings and surface sprays, plus technical acoustic solutions such as ceiling baffles and wall cladding, to absorb noise.

JLL and EMOTIV’s science of work study discovered that while noise can be distracting, deathly quiet is also less than ideal. Soundscapes and white-noise generators may be common in offices of the future and some firms are already experimenting with these as they seek to create the perfect working environment.