The Case for Quiet

“Deviant noises” i.e. noises that are non-constant have a real cost that we pay in lost attention and increased distraction. The bad news is this is involuntary and uncontrollable.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6613176/

Given these facts if we want to maximize productivity it would help to minimize deviant noises.

What are the most common deviant noises? Here are some that come to mind:

• discussion / voices
• mechanical keyboards
• music
• slamming doors
• dogs barking

Everytime we engage in a behavior that produces a deviant noise, such as a loud discussion, in a shared space we are hamstringing the attention of those around us. Anything that will generate enough volume to pierce a common pair of headphones is an attention hazard.

But wait! “They say they don’t care! That it doesn’t bother them, so what’s the big deal?”

It doesn’t matter that they say that. If someone steals pennies from your pocket and you don’t care, it doesn’t change that you are poorer for it. Whether they are willing to suffer (perhaps unknowingly) isn’t relevant to the goal of maximizing productivity.

Putting aside the possibility of them lieing to be agreeable, if folks hear deviant sounds they will bear a cost in attention and brain power. This is a studied and proven fact. Therefore, any organization should prevent deviant noises if they care about the productivity of their team.

I believe we should all be respectful of noise pollution because doing so is demonstrating respect for the attention of those around us. Attention is the currency of life and therefore literally being respectful of a person’s limited time on the planet.