Perception and evaluation of noise sources in open plan office.

Open plan offices are now the most common form of workspaces organisation. They can improve communication between workers while saving space. Their main drawbacks are the lack of intimacy for occupants and the increase of noise level. Noise is one of the most important annoyance factor as described by workers (see SBISB study, 2010). This paper describes a study aiming at a better knowledge of most annoying noise sources in an open plan offices. It consisted in interviews and questionnaires conducted in offices together with physical measurement. This provided some information about sources and tasks for which workers are mainly disturbed. The analysis of recorded answers allowed to evaluate the perceived influence of this annoyance on job stress and health and emphasize the influence of environmental and individual factors in the assessment of noise annoyance.