Fact · Dictation for work and study
Banbury and Berry found no evidence that employees habituate to the office sounds they were asked about, so the distraction did not fade with exposure.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“No evidence for habituation to these sounds was found.”
Office noise and employee concentration: identifying causes of disruption and potential improvements, Simon P. Banbury and Dylan C. Berry, Ergonomics, 2005, Abstract.
Open the original (DOI 10.1080/00140130412331311390)- What it measures
- The study examined how much exposure workers had to each sound, to test whether longer exposure reduced its effect.
- What it does not show
- A 2005 study of 88 people in two offices. It does not test speech from a colleague dictating in an open plan office specifically.