I’ll date myself by saying I first learned about white noise as a kid when the one English-language television channel in Germany would go off the air at midnight. Between the final notes of the U.S. national anthem and the news at 6 a.m., there would be nothing on the tube but jumpy black and white dots and a steady “shhhhhh” sound all night long. My parents explained that some people liked to fall asleep with the TV static on because it drowned out other sounds in the neighborhood. They told me this masking effect of a constant sound was called white noise.

Since then people have figured out that white noise, also called ambient noise, is a great concentration aid during your waking hours. For people who work in an open-plan office, coffee shops, airport lounges or around kids, it’s a lifesaver. Kids and adults with ADHD find white noise to be soothing and a focus booster. Here are some links to good sources of white noise recordings:

Ambiance

First up is Ambiance, the application I use regularly on my iPhone. Get it at the App Store > Productivity > Ambiance. I pop in my headphones wherever I happen to be when I need to push through some work without distraction. The range of available recorded and looped sounds is impressive. My current favourites for working are ‘Large Wind Chimes’ and ‘Waterfall and River.’  To help us catch some shut-eye despite night road construction outside the window, it’s hard to beat ‘Rain on a Tin Roof.’  My hubby and I like the timer and slow fade-out features that ensure we drift slowly off to sleep without a sudden stop to the lulling sounds.

Simply Noise

A simple site that delivers steady static, just like my old TV. You can adjust the volume and oscillation of the ’soundscape’ to suit the circumstances and ‘enjoy auditory zen.’ You can also download the files of white noise, pink noise and brown noise. For more on this, put on your scientist hat and head over to Wikipedia’s explanation of the colors of noise. To listen to the different colours, check out this site.

White Noise 24/7

This site has a small selection of natural sounds and mechanical sounds available in streaming audio format. The second category includes a ventilator, washing machine and dishwasher…reminds me of that Thanksgiving weekend when my huge family was packed into my grandparents’ house, and I dragged my air mattress into the kitchen to sleep next to the dishwasher. It was the only thing that would drown out the sound of my uncles and grandpa snoring!

White Noise Machines

To create white noise for an entire room or office, consider some of these white noise machines or sound conditioners. For a good overview of how these machines work and why they boost productivity, read this article.

Do You Use White Noise?

Please vote on our Productivity Poll to let us know how/whether you use white noise. Thanks!

Do You Know of Other Good White Noise Resources?

Please let us know by commenting below – thanks!

Last week I attended the breakfast put on by Community Business to present their survey findings around work-life balance issues in Hong Kong.

You can download the full survey report  here - and I think you will get a lot out of it if you make HR decisions for your company.

One of the best suggestions made during the morning was for businesses to study the questions asked in the survey and to find ways to get input from their own employees on the issues raised. This information will form the basis of a work-life balance initiative that makes sense for your corporate culture and values.

To give you the gist of the results – here’s my summary of the key findings:

• Most employees’ expectations of their employers’ obligations to address work-life balance issues remain unchanged, despite the economic recession.
• For Hong Kongers, the ideal work-life ratio would be 62:38.
• 30% would consider leaving their current jobs for a better work-life balance.
• Hong Kongers are working an average of 48.4 hours per week, down from 48.8 last year. This is 21% higher than the 40 hours recommended by the International Labour Organisation.
• Gen Y is more concerned with work-life balance than Gen X.
• Those making less than HK$10,000/month work the longest hours and struggle most with work-life balance.
• Financial security was rated the greatest challenge to achieving work-life balance. The 2nd greatest challenge is long working hours, 3rd is company downsizing and 4th is leader’s attitude.
• Work-life imbalance is causing prolonged fatigue, insomnia, poor diet and not enough time for partner and family.
• Employees cite a 5-day work week and more paid annual leave as the top priorities for employer intervention.
• Flexible work arrangements and the ability to work from home are also key areas for employers to address.

My response?

We have a lot of valuable data about where people’s time is going and how they want to be using it. Companies need to work out ways to measure the quality of this time, i.e. just how productive are these working hours?…and could the same output be achieved by employees who know how to work efficiently in non-traditional locations or at different times of the day/night? Could they actually get MORE done this way? Can management be tangibly assured their people are working hard even if they’re not sitting in a cubicle all day?

I say yes – The right people with the right skills and the right boss can definitely pull it off. Teams will need to learn new-fangled collaboration techniques in order to make it work, employees will need to manage their workloads effectively, and managers will need to focus on deliverables rather than seat time.

Organising Solutions is proud to be a participating organisation, and we encourage you to find ways for your company to become involved.

Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• Download Work-Life Balance: the Guide, a practical guide for small, medium and large companies in Hong Kong.
• Attend a Workshop: Adopting a Strategic Approach to Work-Life Balance
• Get the results of this year’s survey at the Breakfast Seminar October 19: The State of Work-Life Balance in Hong Kong 2009 Survey – A Summary of Research Findings
• Sign up as a Participating Organisation by completing a simple survey to register your company’s planned activities.
• Have a look at the Work-Life Balance Day Toolkit for ideas on how to promote the day in your company.

Thanks muchly to the editor for inviting me to contribute to the column!

These articles focus on some popular Team Productivity issues.

Enjoy!

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• Efficiency is Now Top Priority for Firms
• Don’t Allow Email to Take Over Your Life