What is the Radius of Distraction?
The distance required between employees to achieve acceptable speech privacy in a typical open plan office environment is commonly referred to as the radius of distraction. In an unfinished office space this distance can be greater than 50 feet. By adding acoustical ceiling and furniture panels, this distance is only reduced by two to four feet. Many office configurations do not include anything else to deal with acoustical issues. Only by the introduction of soundmasking is the radius of distraction reduced to as low as 11-feet. This translates to an environment that is conducive to accurate communication, either on the phone or among workers teaming in close proximity of each other. What is removed from the acoustical theatre is the background distractions occurring beyond that 11-foot radius.
