A recent study by researchers at Concordia University has uncovered that the volume of speech in office environments is influenced by factors beyond individual habits. Published in Science and Technology for the Built Environment on November 5, 2025, the research emphasizes the importance of office design and the type of communication occurring in the workspace.
Insights from Real-World Office Environments
To explore how physical environments impact speech levels, researchers examined two active offices in Montreal and Quebec City. More than 70 employees, communicating in either English or French, were observed in various settings, including open-plan offices, private offices, and meeting rooms. High-precision sound meters were used to capture speech levels during different types of interactions, such as casual conversations and online meetings.
The findings revealed that workers tend to speak louder in open-plan offices, particularly when partitions separate workstations. Associate Professor Joonhee Lee, the study’s corresponding author, noted that “people speak significantly louder if they are in an open-plan office with partitions separating the workstations.” While partitions are effective at reducing noise, they may lead workers to believe they can speak more loudly without consequence.
Contrasting Meeting Room Dynamics
In contrast to the variable speech levels observed in open offices, meeting rooms exhibited consistent sound levels, regardless of their size. Interestingly, participants engaged in teleconferences spoke slightly louder than they would in face-to-face discussions. Despite these variations, the study found that language used did not significantly affect speech volumes.
One of the most notable conclusions was that actual speech levels in offices were lower than those suggested by existing industry standards. These standards, often based on tests conducted in anechoic chambers—rooms designed to completely absorb sound—do not accurately reflect how people communicate in normal office settings. Lee pointed out that “a decrease in background noise only amplifies the perception of other kinds of noise,” suggesting that a moderate level of background noise can enhance productivity.
Overall, the study emphasizes the need to reconsider existing guidelines related to speech privacy and noise control in office design. As workplaces continue to evolve, understanding the dynamics of speech in real-world environments becomes increasingly crucial for enhancing employee comfort and productivity.
For further details, refer to the study by Rewan Toubar et al, titled “Speech level variation by office environment and communication type,” published in Science and Technology for the Built Environment (2025). DOI: 10.1080/23744731.2025.2551480.