Empirical Study of Room Acoustic Conditions and Neurophysiologic Strain in Staff Working in Special Open-Plan Bank Offices

Abstract

Noise in open-plan offices induces psychological stress and fatigue in staff. Focusing on workstations and noise exposure, this study investigated acoustic conditions in special open-plan offices and their relationship with neurophysiologic strain. Twenty banks and 104 participants were randomly selected. Acoustic properties of banks and workstation partitions were assessed using the ISO criteria and speech transmission index (STI). Equivalent noise level (LAeq) of the staff was measured in three 30-min intervals, and skin conductance level (SCL) and respiratory rate (RR) of staff were assessed in three 5-min intervals at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the work hours. The intelligibility of speech between staff workstations (SW) was better than that between staff and clients (SC however, with increasing STI between SW and with decreasing STI between S&C, the staff strain increased. With increasing noise exposure, psychological stress of the staff increased too. Because of the acoustic condition and partitions used in the banks, the acoustic comfort of staff was not desirable. Since many other banks use such partitions, any improvement in partitions between workstations can enhance acoustic comfort in the banks.