Acoustic Impact of working from home

Abstract: The outbreak of Covid-19 has resulted in major changes on office work. Many office workers have been almost exclusively working from home for the past year, which has led to different advantages and obstacles for the workers. A lot of studies have investigated the acoustic environment of offices, to distinguish which sound sources that are the most disturbing. The consequences of disturbing noise for working have also been investigated in several studies. The studies that have examined home environment have not focused on distance working. This thesis aimed to see how office workers are experiencing distance working with a focus on acoustics. Another question asked in the report was whether measured acoustic parameters had any direct impact on noise annoyance. 31 people with similar working conditions participated in the study. Sound pressure level was measured for one hour at the participants’ homes while they were working, along with one-hour measurements at the office. In addition, a questionnaire was sent out to the participants asking questions about living conditions, opinions on distance working and perceived noise annoyance. Correlation analyses were made where both questionnaire responses and measured values were analysed. The responses showed an almost equal amount preferring distance work and office work, with the neutral options being the most popular. A notable number wanted to continue working from home in a high extent. Some stated that they had redecorated rooms in the purpose of creating home offices since they started distance working. The sound measurement showed no clear correlations with preferred workplace or annoyance, indicating that the character of the noise is more important than the volume. The most impactful variables on overall noise annoyance or change in workplace or work hours were number of family members at home, dwelling size, age and disturbance from general maintenance and construction work. Distance working will most likely continue to be a big part of everyday life after Covid restrictions are listed, which will require more focus on how to improve acoustical environment at home. Improvement on the study would require more participants and different office environments to see impact from a wider array of variables. Other acoustical parameters could also be added to the measurements.