A study of annoyance caused by noise in automatic data processing offices

Abstract Noise levels were measured in three types of office room and occupants assessments recorded on a questionnaire containing a seven-point rating scale together with comparative questions relating noise to other environmental variables. Noise was found to be the most important single source of annoyance, and noise levels were rated too high to be regarded as satisfactory in more than half of the rooms studied. Degree of annoyance was found to be related to noise level, with significant differences between occupational grades leading to a concept of noise level expectancies for different occupations. The possibilities of damage to hearing and interference with speech communication are considered and maximum noise levels for both speech conservation and comfort are suggested. The problem of noise control in offices is discussed and the results of an experiment reported together with general suggestions for the treatment of mechanized offices.