How loud is a quiet office?
A private (cell) office measured about 32 to 35 dBA LAeq during working hours in a Swedish field study, roughly 15 dB quieter than the shared open-plan offices at the same sites.
- Level
- 32–34.8 dBAA-weighted sound level
- Daily limit
- No daily limitNIOSH, at the loud end
- Versus conversation
- 1/813 energyabout 7.5× quieter
What the numbers mean
How it was measured. Equivalent sound level (LAeq) measured by an acoustician in single-person cell offices and small meeting rooms at five Swedish office sites during working hours.
Seddigh and colleagues (Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2020) had an acoustician measure equivalent sound levels with a head and torso simulator at five offices. Cell offices averaged 34.8 LAeq, against 50.1 LAeq for shared and open-plan offices. After relocation to activity-based offices, small rooms such as web meeting rooms and project rooms measured about 32 LAeq.
Employees in the shared and open-plan offices performed about 14% worse on a concentration-demanding memory task than those in cell offices, a gap that coincided with a measured noise difference of about 15 dB.
Is it safe?
Below 85 dBA, the level NIOSH allows for a full 8-hour day. At this level, sound is not a hearing risk however long it lasts, though it can still disturb sleep or concentration.
Protecting your hearing
No protection needed. For focused work, a closed door does most of the job; in shared offices, quiet rooms make a measurable difference.
Earplug and earmuff ratings (NRR in the US, SNR in the UK and EU) are lab figures; real-world protection is usually lower. How to read the ratings.
Compared with sounds nearby
Using midpoints of each range. Energy multiplies by 10 every 10 dB; perceived loudness roughly doubles (why).
- Haleakalā crater (10 dBA): this has about 219× its sound energy and sounds about 5.1× as loud.
- Rustling leaves (10–20 dBA): this has about 69× its sound energy and sounds about 3.6× as loud.
- Refrigerator (40–43 dBA): it has about 6.5× the sound energy of this and sounds about 1.8× as loud.
- Open-plan office (49–55 dBA): it has about 72× the sound energy of this and sounds about 3.6× as loud.
- Normal conversation (55–70 dBA): conversation has about 813× the energy of this.
Questions
How quiet is a private office?
About 32 to 35 dBA LAeq in a Swedish field study, around 15 dB quieter than open-plan offices.
Do people work better in private offices?
In that study, people in shared and open-plan offices scored about 14% worse on a concentration-demanding memory task than people in cell offices.
Sources
- Objective measures of cognitive performance in activity based workplaces and traditional office types, Journal of Environmental Psychology. Supports: dB_high: 34.8 LAeq cell office.
was higher for employees in the shared/open-plan office (50.1 LAeq) compared with employees in the cell office (34.8 LAeq)
Checked 2026-11-02. - Objective measures of cognitive performance in activity based workplaces and traditional office types, Journal of Environmental Psychology. Supports: dB_low: 32 LAeq.
the noise level increased from about 32 LAeq in the cell rooms
Checked 2026-11-02.
This page is general information, not medical advice. If you have ringing in your ears, muffled hearing or any change in your hearing, see an audiologist or your doctor.