Gen Z says they are most productive when working around noise; baby boomers say “Shhh”, they need quiet to get work done

More than half of gen Z (55%) and millennials (56%) say they want open offices, despite the associated distractions, according to a new study from Future Workplace commissioned by unified communications company Plantronics (“Poly” – formerly Plantronics and Polycom) (NYSE: PLT). The findings highlight how the four generations at work today think about their workplace environments, including what drives productivity, how they function in the office and how they handle distraction.

“When you consider how many different work styles and different generations are thrown together in one place, it’s no wonder that almost everyone reports being distracted at work,” said Amy Barzdukas, CMO and Executive Vice-President of Poly. “It’s equally clear that the right mix of technology and environment can reduce distraction and improve productivity – and that is what employees are asking for.”

Among the findings:

People of all ages would love working in offices – if only they didn’t have noisy co-workers. Loud talkers are among the greatest perils of life in the office.

• Nearly all (99%) employees report they get distracted while working at their personal workspace.
• More than half say distractions make it tough to listen or be heard on calls (51%) and impact ability to focus (48%).
• Co-workers are to blame: Seventy-six percent of all employees surveyed said their biggest distraction is a co-worker talking loudly on the phone, and 65% say it’s a co-worker talking nearby.
• Ninety-three percent are frustrated, at least occasionally, due to distractions during a phone or video call.

And yet, gen Z and millennials still prefer the open office, likely because they say they’re productive in noisy environments and tend to collaborate more than other generations.

• Half of workers prefer an open workplace floor plan, and the younger they are, the more they want it – 55% of gen Z and 56% of millennials prefer open offices compared to 47% of gen X and 38% of baby boomers.
• More than half of gen Z (52%) say they are most productive when they were working around noise or talking with others; 60% of baby boomers say they’re most productive when it’s quiet.
• Twenty percent of gen Z spend at least half their day on a telephone, video or multi-party call, while only 7% of baby boomers do the same.

“Gen Z is bringing millions of people into the global workforce, and our research finds that they have very different working styles compared to previous generations,” said Jeanne Meister, founding partner of Future Workplace. “We now have four generations working under one roof, which forces companies to reconsider traditional definitions of what makes a productive office environment and how their employees can best collaborate with each other.”

Compared to their elders, gen Z and millennials are better able to deal with distractions.

• Thirty-five percent of Gen Z use headphones to deal with distraction, while only 16% of baby boomers do the same.
• About four in 10 gen Z and millennials relocate to comfortable spaces such as a couch or cushioned chairs to work. On the flip-side, more than half of baby boomers only work at their primary workspace.
• Three times as many boomers than gen Z workers admit to not finding a solution to their open office distractions.

Notably, the survey results show that nearly three in four people would work in the office more – and be more productive – if employers would do more to reduce workplace distractions, providing a clear opportunity for IT, HR, and facilities to collaborate. Nine out of 10 respondents say they get frustrated by distractions on phone or video calls and the majority of employees who rely on phone and video conferencing during the day say distractions could be minimised with better technology (56%) and the elimination of background noise (56%). More than half of employees say their organisation can reduce office distractions by establishing quiet spaces or zones, setting guidelines on appropriate noise levels and changing the office layout.

For more information about the study and for a copy of an eBook on managing distraction in the open office, visit this page. Poly offers products and services that help companies optimise collaboration in open office environments. For more information, visit www.Poly.com.

Research methodology

Research findings are based on a global survey conducted by Savanta across US, Canada, Spain, UK, Germany, France, China, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, and India between 18 and 26 March 2019. For this survey, 5 150 respondents were asked general questions to explore office dynamics, distractions, and benefits at their corporate office. The study targeted employees who work three days minimum in a corporate office environment and at organisations of different sizes. All panellists have passed a double opt-in process and complete on average 300 profiling data points prior to taking part in surveys.

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