Distractions are all around us. Every day we’re inundated with excessive background noise at home, at school, and at work. This can cause stress, poor performance at work or school, and decreased productivity. Did you know it takes the average person about fifteen minutes to refocus on their tasks when they’ve been interrupted? In open offices with cubicle systems, employees can be distracted almost constantly, meaning they can never be truly focused.

Over 70% of employees state that their biggest complaint about their work environment is excessive noise. Many workers complain that background noise from standard work-related sounds like fax machines, copiers, footsteps, ringing telephones, and conversations significantly hinder their productivity.Employers who don’t get enough done at work can become very stressed out. The stress that results from decreased work performance and productivity can end up making the situation even worse. Stress is widely considered one of the biggest causes of job dissatisfaction, and also leads to the excessive use of sick days.

Many employees become so distracted by background noise at work that they resort to taking matters into their own hands. They may try using earplugs, which can cause them to miss hearing important things such as ringing phones and other employees trying to speak to them about work-related issues.

Some employees try to mask the sounds around them by bringing in their own noise generators like fans or desktop water features. Some employees try to cover up the noise with music, which can often be more distracting than the existing noise. This is especially true for music with lyrics. Music, even through headphones, can also disturb other employees that are nearby.

White noise systems, called sound masking systems, can greatly reduce background noise. They work by emitting sounds that contain a wide range of frequencies that help block other sounds from being processed properly by the brain. Of course, if you actively concentrate on listening to a sound, you can still hear it. Sound masking systems only help block unwanted sounds, almost muting them from your subconscious mind.

They are very non-distracting, making them ideal for work environments. Unlike music, which can actually be more distracting, white noise systems are practically unnoticeable. The sound is very neutral, and very quiet, making it a great choice for offices that really need their employees to experience full concentration.

Companies who added a sound masking system to their offices reported a 10% reduction in mistakes by data entry employees, and up to a 50% increase in worker focus and productivity. This is a remarkable achievement for a system that costs very little to install!