A little banter at the workplace is healthy as it keeps the environment alive and the employees feel cordial with one another. At times, the constant honking of the busy road under the office or a discussion at the desk next to you might seem annoying when one is engrossed in his work. Noise seems like a nuisance in such a situation and makes the person irritable. But the side effects of unwanted noise are much more than nuisance, especially in a professional environment. A report by the World Health Organization in 2011 stated that noise can adversely affect one’s health. Apart from this, a few minutes in silence can significantly reduce the stress levels of an individual and boost work productivity. Due to this and many other benefits, professionals across the globe are giving immense importance to silence at work.
There is a general misconception that working in silence might slow down the activity in the process. But silence actually has the contradictory effect on one’s efficiency. By indulging in silence for a few minutes, the mental and physical energy is renewed. This is because, for those few minutes, the body isn’t responding to the external stimuli which give it time to unwind. Therefore after enjoying a short span of solitude, the person gets back to work with better focus and creativity. One becomes mentally ready in a sharper way to deal with anything that comes in his way. No amount of caffeine can awaken your senses the way a short break in silence can.
It is essential to practice silence at work to improve productivity.
How to practice silence at work
It is a common practice that people usually turn to earphones as a resort to divert their mind from the disturbances. But this resort serves no purpose. In fact, listening to music distracts the mind as the brain is responding to the music drumming in one’s years instead of focusing on the work in front of him. Along with this, listening to music for long intervals at a high volume can cause great damage to the hearing ability of a person. Well, this chalks out music as a solution to practice silence at work. It is almost impossible to experience absolute silence in a professional environment as there is something or the other always going around. In such a situation, the use of earplugs is advisable. This is as it obstructs the ear openings from receiving any sound waves present in the environment.
There can be times when working in absolute silence can become monotonous and lead to boredom or drowsiness. If this is the case, one should try to take a silent break. This must be done when he feels that the speed of his work activity is slowing down or he is feeling sleepy. A short walk around the office buildings in the daytime will instantly awaken the mind. The heat of the sun refreshes the body and some physical movement will startle the senses. After resuming work, you will immediately notice an improvement in your speed as well as the efficiency of work. Thus silence at work doesn’t always mean that you need to sit silently as if you are practicing meditation. Dedicating ten minutes in a day to solitude can also make a difference.