We bought a hallucination machine for the office

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Hi! I’m Peter, CEO of Kickresume, and these career-related stories caught my attention this month — and might catch yours too.

Most people at Kickresume don’t come to the office often. They work remotely.

Which means our office is a calm, almost serene place. Most of the time, that is.

But then there are days like yesterday—when the stars align, Mercury goes into retrograde, Saturn throws a tantrum, and suddenly everyone decides to show up!

At first, I even enjoyed the energy…But as the day went on, the energizing buzz turned to a downright annoying noise.

As I sat there yesterday, trying to focus, my mind (and internet search history) wandered to potential solutions—maybe we need more meeting rooms or some soundproofing?

Instead, I was bombarded with ads for white noise office machines and sound masking technologies.

Wait, what?

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Killing me softly with this noise

A 2023 Leesman survey found that noise levels were rated among the 10 most important features of the office—ranking between functioning toilets and an IT help desk.

And, according to the same survey, only 32% of employees are satisfied with the noise levels in their offices. 

As it turns out then, I’m not the only one finding the office chatter annoying. Seems like 68% of employees agree. 

But it’s not just about being annoyed.

Typical noise levels in open plan offices can actually increase physiological stress indicators like higher heart rates, according to a 2021 study.

Adding to this, researchers from the University of Gävle in Sweden also found that higher noise levels in open plan offices led to:

• poorer memory

• increased fatigue

• lower motivation among workers

It's pretty clear that a noisy office is a problem (I figured, but I'm glad science has my back). 

…So, what's the solution? 

It’s not helping, but at least it's making it worse

You'd think that the logical solution to a noise problem in open offices would either be to enforce silence on everyone in the office (but then, who would wanna be the noise police?), or to move away from open plan offices toward a more cellular interior—more huddle rooms, private offices or quiet rooms.

Well, think again.

As bizarre as it sounds, businesses choose the option number three—adding even more sound 🙃

And how, you ask? By investing in noise machines or (as the businesses refer to them) “sound masking technologies”.

These little boxes (glorified speakers), are strategically placed throughout the office in a way that no one can escape them.

These devices are supposed to make your work environment more bearable by adding even more noise—just the right kind of noise, apparently. 

The logic? If you can’t quite make out what someone’s saying, your brain will find it easier to ignore. So instead of silencing the chatter, they’re layering on even more sound, hoping the result is somehow… less distracting.

Imagine this: you walk into the office, already bracing yourself for the usual buzz of conversations and the clatter of keyboards. But instead, you’re greeted by a constant whooshing noise coming from every corner, which gets louder every time someone speaks. 

Noise + noise = hallucination?

But do these noise machines actually work? Well, it depends on who you ask. 

Sure, some people love them and swear by their effectiveness. Even companies like SAP and GSK are using sound masking technologies. 

But when I decided to dig a little deeper—beyond what the companies selling these machines claim—I found some interesting takes from both researchers and people who’ve experienced them firsthand (thank you, Reddit).

Then there’s the research side. I'll let an excerpt from the study results speak for itself:

"The study did not reveal any significant improvement in the assessed psychological factors nor in annoyance caused by office noise. On the contrary, it showed an increase in annoyance caused by noise from office equipment.” (You can check out the full study here.)

Hiss, whoosh, hum—pick one (or none)

I’ll admit, it’s definitely an interesting approach to office noise. 

Adding noise to combat noise? It’s kind of like fighting fire with… well, more fire. Except in this case it doesn’t work.

But hey, if it helps some people focus, who am I to judge? 

In the end, it’s about finding what works best for you—or in this case, your team.

And as for our office, I think I’ll skip on the sound machines—I prefer my distractions a little less… manufactured.

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Random piece of career advice

Not sure which resume sections are necessary and which ones are optional? 

Struggling with how to organize the sections of your resume? 

Rather than trying too hard and ending up with a cluttered resume, you should stick to what is necessary. 

And add any optional sections which will complement it depending on your profession. 

Let's break it down:

Every resume should, definitely, include these five key resume sections: 

1. Personal information

2. Resume summary or objective

3. Work experience

4. Education

5. Skills

Your resume can also include any of these optional resume sections (but only if you feel like it's relevant to your profession and you can “fill it up”) :

• Achievements and awards

• Certifications and licences

• Language skills

• Publications

• References

• Hobbies

• Social media

• Volunteering

• Custom sections

And what should each of the sections include content-wise? We break it down for you in this detailed article (which includes screenshots and examples).

Don’t worry, we didn’t forget!

As a token of appreciation for your excellent scrolling skills, here’s a 20% discount code for Kickresume Premium. 

Catch you later! 

Peter