Remote meetings culture: Silence as a huge advantage

In the era of remote and hybrid work, virtual meetings have become an integral part of daily communication in the office space. Many companies and employees have appreciated the benefits of this work model, but one of the issues worth discussing is the noise generated during such conversations. The enormous noise that can occur during uncontrolled meetings can be as annoying as clicking a pen on a board or the sound of a jackhammer at work.

Remote meetings: About the pacing of bears

While virtual meetings seem to be a transfer of work at a distance, there are a number of subtle differences that affect the comfort of other team members. Above all, sounds made by conversation participants tend to spread to adjacent workstations. Just imagine a bear walking around the office, and each step of the powerful animal causes the floor to vibrate. This graphically illustrates the importance of sound management during virtual meetings. In an office environment, a conversation between two colleagues can resemble a struggle with a bear: noise and confusion make it impossible to focus on work. This problem can be compared to the situation where a mason tries to do their job in a noisy surrounding - it becomes extremely troublesome for everyone around. The introduction of remote meetings culture has helped to some extent solve this problem, by increasing work comfort and eliminating noise interference.

Challenges for open office spaces

However, even virtual meetings are not free from obstacles. Many employees use powerful headphone sets with a microphone, allowing them to freely communicate with other meeting participants. Unfortunately, when the sound volume is too high, headphones stop servicing as sound barriers, leading to interference with neighbors. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to how loudly we speak during virtual meetings so as not to negatively impact the work of other people in the office. Open office spaces have become popular because of the communication freedom they offer but also because of cost-saving. However, noise generated by conversations at desks can be particularly burdensome for employees who require concentration. In that case, conversations perceived by neighbors can be as invasive as sounds from the surroundings - from street noise to the hum of a powerful machine in the background.

Solutions for a calmer communication

So how do we address this problem? First and foremost, it’s worth taking care of appropriate procedures and rules regarding running virtual meetings. An example could be designating special areas in which employees can conduct conversations in a less troublesome way for the environment. Another solution is to use high-quality headphones with a microphone that will allow conversations with less need to raise voices. Introducing such practices in the office space will contribute to increasing work comfort and improving the efficiency of all team members.