Noise At Work

More than half of Gen Z (55%) and Millennials (56%) say they want open offices, despite the associated distractions, according to a new study from Future Workplace commissioned by unified communications company Plantronics, Inc. The findings highlight how the four generations at work today think about their workplace environments, including what drives productivity, how they function in the office and how they handle distraction. Among the findings:

• People of all ages would love working in offices – if only they didn’t have noisy co-workers. Loud talkers are among the greatest perils of life in the office.
• Nearly all (99%) employees report they get distracted while working at their personal workspace.
• More than half say that distractions make it tough to listen or be heard on calls (51%) and impact the ability to focus (48%).
• 76% of all employees surveyed said their biggest distraction is a co-worker talking loudly on the phone, and 65% say it’s a co-worker talking nearby.
• 93% are frustrated, at least occasionally, due to distractions during a phone or video call.
• And yet, Gen Z and Millennials still prefer the open office, likely because they say they’re productive in noisy environments and tend to collaborate more than other generations.
• Half of the workers prefer an open workplace floor plan, and the younger they are, the more they want it – 55% of Gen Z and 56% of Millennials prefer open offices compared to 47% of Gen X and 38% of Baby Boomers.
• More than half of Gen Z (52%) say they are most productive when they were working around noise or talking with others; 60% of Baby Boomers say they’re most productive when it’s quiet.
• 20% of Gen Z spend at least half their day on a telephone, video or multi-party call, while only 7% of Baby Boomers do the same.
• 35% of Gen Z use headphones to deal with distraction, while only 16% of Baby Boomers do the same.