It’s no secret that co-working spaces are on the rise. Why wouldn’t they be? In a post-lockdown world, they offer workers greater flexibility for hybrid working, whilst also being a more budget-friendly option for businesses. In fact, a 2020 study predicted that the amount of co-working spaces worldwide was set to grow by up to 21.3% a year from 2021.

So, it’s no secret then that co-working spaces are the future. But, as great as this is, for all the positives of co-working spaces, they do have their share of negatives. Namely, their open-plan design that leads to a lack acoustic integrity that can cause problems for workers in all kinds of situations.

One of the massive downsides to co-working spaces is that they often don’t cater to workers dealing with sensitive projects. For example, imagine you’re on Zoom talking through your company’s next product launch and you can’t guarantee you won’t be overheard. In that situation it would be impossible for you to use that space, which can cause all kinds of issues. Do you take the call at home? Where children and pets have the ability to start causing chaos the minute you click ‘Join’? Or, imagine you’re rushing to meet a deadline, but despite your best efforts to drown out the sound of the meeting next door, all you can hear is the sound of next year’s marketing strategy creeping into your thoughts.

What’s more, it’s not only high-pressure situations that noise like this can affect. A 2021 study compared 59 participants working in different acoustic conditions, and found that working in silence meant that participants had less cognitive load and lower stress levels. These findings call to question the impact of noise on a number of situations – if background noise affects the cognitive levels of working adults, what will its impact on students be? Any place where external noise is a risk would benefit from acoustic seals: for example, schools – where in one room some students could be taking an exam whilst out in the corridor there’s a hustle and bustle of the rest of the school going to lunch – or even home offices, with acoustic seals to drown out the noise of barking dogs or playful children. Workers everywhere would benefit from quieter working conditions, no matter the circumstances.

So, how can we make that happen?

The problem starts and ends with the lack of acoustic integrity in these spaces making them unfit for all purposes. Norsound’s acoustic door seals could help solve this problem, as they will provide that much needed barrier that will keep sound in as much as it will keep it out. By simply setting up acoustically sealed spaces with acoustically sealed doors to stop sound escaping, people who use co-working spaces will be able to get guaranteed privacy for those all-important meetings, and the silent working conditions they crave.

Norsound provides a wide range of solutions for acoustically sealing doors – including glass doors, sliding doors and swing doors – to make rooms and spaces the perfect place to concentrate and work productively and discretely

Find out more about Norsound, and discover how acoustic seals could benefit you at norseal.co.uk/norsound. Alternatively, get in touch today on 01661 830088 to speak to one of our team.