Effects of unattended speech on performance and subjective distraction: The role of acoustic design in open-plan offices |
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| Institution: | 1. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Indoor Environment Laboratory, Lemminkäisenkatu 14-18 B, FI-20520 Turku, Finland;2. University of Turku, Department of Psychology, 20014 Turku, Finland;1. Department of Building, Energy, and Environmental Engineering, University of Gävle, SE-80176 Gävle, Sweden;2. Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden;3. Linnaeus Centre HEAD, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden;1. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Lemminkäisenkatu 14-18 B, 20520, Turku, Finland;2. Turku University of Applied Sciences, Indoor Environment, Lemminkäisenkatu 14-18 B, 20520, Turku, Finland;3. University of Turku, Department of Psychology, 20014, Turku, Finland;1. Institut national de recherche et de sécurité (INRS), Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France;2. Laboratoire Vibrations Acoustique, INSA-Lyon, Université de Lyon, F-69621 Villeurbanne, France;1. Institute for Acoustics and Building Physics, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 7, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany;2. Renz Solutions GmbH, Forchenweg 37, 71134 Aidlingen, Germany;3. Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Nobelstrasse 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany;4. HSD Hochschule Döpfer (University of Applied Sciences), Waidmarkt 3 und 9, 50676 Cologne, Germany |
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| Abstract: | Unattended background speech is a known source of cognitive and subjective distraction in open-plan offices. This study investigated whether the deleterious effects of background speech can be affected by room acoustic design that decreases speech intelligibility, as measured by the Speech Transmission Index (STI). The experiment was conducted in an open-plan office laboratory (84 m2) in which four acoustic conditions were physically built. Three conditions contained background speech. A quiet condition was included for comparison. The speech conditions differed in terms of the degree of absorption, screen height, desk isolation, and the level of masking sound. The speech sounds simulated an environment where phone conversations are heard from different locations varying in distance. Ninety-eight volunteers were tested. The presence of background speech had detrimental effects on the subjective perceptions of noise effects and on cognitive performance in short-term memory and working memory tasks. These effects were not attenuated nor amplified within a three-hour working period. The reduction of the STI by room acoustic means decreased subjective disturbance, whereas the effects on cognitive performance were somewhat smaller than expected. The effects of room acoustic design on subjective distraction were stronger among noise-sensitive subjects, suggesting that they benefited more from acoustic improvements than non-sensitive subjects. The results imply that reducing the STI is beneficial for performance and acoustic satisfaction especially regarding speech coming from more distant desks. However, acoustic design does not sufficiently decrease the distraction caused by speech from adjacent desks. |
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| Keywords: | Speech Transmission Index Cognitive performance Speech intelligibility Masking Acoustic satisfaction Noise effects |
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