Leveraging quiet: The power of choosing your workspace

• Published in: Industrial and organizational psychology 2024-09, Vol.17 (3), p.371-374
• Main Authors: Kalmanovich-Cohen, Hanna, Stanton, Steven J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collaboration; Commentaries; Employees; Knowledge sharing; Mindfulness; Problem solving; Productivity; Socialization; Verbal communication; Work at home; Work environment
• ISSN: 1754-9426; 1754-9434
• DOI: 10.1017/iop.2024.23

[...]focused work thrives in a quiet setting, whereas collaborative tasks may benefit from both quiet and loud periods. [...]it is imperative to investigate how a quiet work environment can support, or hinder, employees across various types of work, particularly in a work from home setting where individuals have significant autonomy over their workspace. [...]teams can conduct silent brainstorming sessions where employees contribute ideas in writing. [...]teams may engage in shared mindfulness practices during virtual meetings or implement strategic quiet breaks where participants voluntarily mute their microphones. In the context of effective collaboration, employees need an environment that promotes open communication, knowledge sharing, and some degree of concentration (Swart et al., 2022). [...]work settings that allow control over noise levels are ideal for collaborative efforts. [...]controlling the frequency of communication with colleagues, along with the ability to schedule interactions without disturbing focused work, can further enhance collaboration.