Why silence itself can become a distraction
In a very quiet office, small sounds have nothing to compete with. A keyboard click, a phone vibration, or a distant conversation can stand out sharply because the background is so low. Workers in one office study reported disliking silence at work, and the reasons they gave included being distracted by silence itself [4]. That is a different problem from loud noise: the issue is the contrast between near-silence and any sound that breaks it.
This helps explain why simply adding more sound-absorbing material does not automatically improve concentration. Absorption reduces reflected sound energy, which can lower overall sound levels and shorten reverberation. But when that effect goes far enough, the room may feel deadened, and ordinary office sounds can become more noticeable rather than less.
What sound absorption actually changes in an office
Sound absorption mainly reduces reflected sound, not the direct sound traveling from a source to a listener. In an open office, a quiet hub built with a highly sound-absorbing ceiling section and acoustic curtains was designed to improve acoustic comfort, speech intelligibility, and privacy in the center of the workspace [1]. Outside that center, the treatment reduced speech intelligibility substantially as distance increased [1]. That is the intended benefit: less unwanted speech reaching nearby workers.
The same physical effect can overshoot. If absorption is applied broadly enough, the room's background sound level drops and the acoustic contrast between quiet and any noise increases. One analysis of office acoustics notes that reducing the contrast between the quiet office and any noise is part of the design challenge [5]. In other words, absorption is a tool for managing contrast, not a volume knob that should always be turned up.
Why adding a little sound can work better than removing all of it
Sound masking takes the opposite approach: it adds a low-level background sound to reduce the intelligibility of speech and other office noises. In an open office where the ceiling was covered with sound-absorbing material and screens were only weakly absorbing, masking sound reduced distraction caused by speech and other office sounds [3]. That finding is consistent with the idea that what matters is not silence itself but the ratio of unwanted sound to background sound.
This does not mean absorption is unhelpful. The quiet hub study found measurable acoustic benefits from absorption in a specific zone [1], and corridor work on ceiling absorption configurations examined how placement affects potential distraction from speech [2]. The practical lesson is that absorption and masking can serve complementary roles: absorption limits how far speech travels, while a modest background sound keeps small noises from becoming startling in an otherwise silent room.
What a balanced office sounds like
A well-designed open office is not silent. It has enough background sound to soften small noises and enough absorption to keep speech from carrying across the room. The quiet hub example shows that localized absorption can improve privacy in a defined area without necessarily treating the entire floor [1]. The masking study shows that even with substantial ceiling absorption, adding masking sound further reduced distraction [3].
The exact balance depends on the space and the work. The evidence here comes from case studies and specific office configurations, so it does not give a single absorption target that fits every workplace. But the direction is clear: the goal is controlled contrast, not maximum quiet. An office that is too absorptive can make every small sound stand out, while an office with no absorption lets speech travel too far.
Sources used in this answer
The influence of a 'quiet hub' on the indoor acoustics in an open office environment: A case study
A quiet hub with a highly sound-absorbing ceiling and acoustic curtains improved acoustic comfort, speech intelligibility, and privacy in the center of an open office, and reduced speech intelligibility outside the hub as distance increased.
Comparison of ceiling absorption placement configurations in a corridor
Ceiling absorption placement configurations in a corridor were examined for their potential to affect distraction from speech in office environments.
Effect of sound masking on workers in an open office
In an open office with a sound-absorbing ceiling and weakly absorbing screens, sound masking reduced distraction caused by speech and other office sounds.
What about noise? Perception of noise at the workplace–office study
Some workers reported disliking silence at work, with observed reasons including being distracted by silence, and increasing a room's sound absorption was found to significantly affect noise perception.
ĐSTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY★ INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Office acoustic treatment involves sound absorption ratings and the challenge of reducing the contrast between the quiet office and any noise.