We know several people who choose to go to work very early in the morning, before most of their coworkers arrive, just so they can have a quiet place to concentrate on their projects. After all, if you don’t have the sound of office chatter, telephones ringing, copiers and fax machines beeping and buzzing, and the clickety-clack of a hundred keyboards surrounding you, you’ll be able to focus on your work and increase your productivity, right? That’s the theory, anyway, but in fact there are hidden noises in our workplace environments that sap our energy and concentration skills, making it harder to focus on what we’re reading, and on remembering it later.

Researchers at Göteborg University and the University of Gävle in Sweden did a study that looked at the effect of low-level noises such as those produced by a ventilation or heating system – buzzing and humming noises that we don’t consciously notice – on people’s ability to concentrate on a task. When they studied participants who needed to focus on details, such as in a proofreading exercise, they found that when the noises were played in the background, the participants in the study had a more difficult time at their tasks. Even though their conscious attention wasn’t being distracted by something like a phone conversation in the next cubicle, the droning hum of the simulated HVAC operation resulted in more errors.

Depending on where you work, you might be able to change some of your office environment to get rid of the low-frequency noises that reduce your ability to read and remember. See if you can shut off the heating system and instead use an open window for cooling and a sweater for warmth. Make sure that buzzing fluorescent light bulbs are replaced with noise-free LED versions. Check to see that any office machines like printers with a “power saver” option have it turned on, so that idle machines shut themselves down when they’re not being used. If your job doesn’t involve being on the telephone constantly, you might consider purchasing some sound-blocking headphones, or ones where you can listen to music that helps you concentrate.

If you’re not sure whether there are any of these concentration-destroying noises in your work environment, make a point of going to work early (or staying late) to eliminate the everyday noises of the office, and see if you can identify the sounds that can reduce your mental strength – when you need it the most.

Reference: Evaluations of effects due to low-frequency noise in a low demanding work situation. J. Bengtsson, K. Persson Waye, A. Kjellberg

Cross-posted at the Ultimate Memory blog.