By Ben Hancock, Managing Director, Oscar Acoustics
For too many UK office workers, the most significant barrier to productive work is not process or technology, but sound. In open- plan environments, noise is quietly eroding focus and contributing to a wider issue that costs UK businesses over £40 billion a year in lost productivity, staff turnover, noise-related sick days and customer dissatisfaction. Walk into almost any contemporary office and you will find lighting carefully calibrated, ventilation finely balanced and spatial zoning planned in detail. Yet acoustics, the design factor that most directly shapes how people feel, focus and perform, is still too often treated as an afterthought. At Oscar Acoustics, Great Britain’s leading specialist in architectural acoustic finishes, we commissioned new research, polling 2,000 UK office workers in February 2026. The findings uncover the scale of the problem. Workers are losing an average of 26 minutes of productive time every day to noise. That adds up to more than three working weeks a year, per employee, simply vanishing. Across UK PLC, the hit to workplace efficiency is staggering at a
KB13 SonaSpray acoustic ceiling finish in ‘Downstairs at dMFK’ ©Ed Reeve
moment when the country can least afford it. The human cost reads even harder. Half (50%) of office workers report headaches or migraines due to noise at work. Nearly two- thirds (62%) say they’re tired or fatigued because of it. And 45% would consider quitting their job over excessive noise. My view is straightforward: noisy offices have moved from background irritant to a genuine occupational health hazard, and employers now have a duty of care. Poor acoustic design now sits at the centre of workplace wellbeing and employee retention conversations. It is also an inclusion failure for the 60% of the UK population who are noise sensitive, including neurodivergent colleagues and those with hearing or visual challenges. Designing a genuinely audio-inclusive workplace starts with sound. You can’t see it, but you can feel it. Acoustic comfort is fundamental to a building, not a finishing touch, yet only 8% of companies have installed any acoustic treatment in the last two years, and 85% have never assessed their acoustic environment. Only a third of employees believe their employer takes workplace noise seriously. The disconnect
The Oscar Innovation Centre is the world’s first Sownd Certified building © Antonia Stuart
between how occupants experience a space and what architectural acoustics deliver in practice has become impossible to ignore. Acoustic performance has historically been judged on design-stage predictions, with limited verification once a building is occupied and brimming with people, conversations, furniture and devices. That changes with Sownd Certification, the world’s first independent accreditation for audio-inclusive buildings with proven acoustic performance. Developed by Sownd Affects in partnership with Oscar Acoustics, and tested by the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton, it evaluates how a space actually performs in real-world conditions. In practice, that means measurement after handover, in the live, occupied building, not assumptions modelled on a drawing. The framework aligns with BS 8233, BB93 and PAS 6463, and runs across three tiers: Bronze covers the core acoustic metrics that determine how sound behaves in a space and is the level most schemes will specify toward; Silver and Gold layer in staff training, operational protocols and integrated technology. This is where the AEC sector needs to lead. Architects, engineers and contractors are uniquely placed to drive the shift by treating acoustic finishes as part of the specification rather than a snagging issue and by giving clients a benchmark in the form of Sownd Certification that they can specify. Acoustic design needs to be built in, not bolted on. When it’s treated with the same rigour as lighting, ventilation and physical accessibility, it stops being a cost line and becomes a strategic investment in people, productivity and the long-term performance of the building. Learn how Sownd Certification is setting a new benchmark for acoustic performance. Visit
https://www.oscar-acoustics.com/ sownd-certification/
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
