Clear communication. Less shouting across desks.
When drilling interrupts the office, a shared plan beats guessing who can hear, who’s concentrating and who needs a quieter spot.
Keep requests specific, kind and easy to act on. Start with these examples and adapt them to your team.
Words you can borrow.
These are suggested messages, not a script you have to follow.
To a colleague: protect a focus block
“I’m finding it hard to finish this with the drilling. Could we use chat for non-urgent questions until 11? If something is urgent, please flag it clearly.”
To your manager: ask for an adjustment
“Construction noise has been interrupting my client calls this week. Could we arrange a quieter room for calls, or discuss another approved work location? I can share the times it’s been most disruptive.”
To a meeting: make hearing easier
“There’s construction noise near my desk today. I’ll mute when I’m not speaking. Could we use captions where available and put decisions and actions in writing?”
Make a small team agreement.
- Choose a channel: Agree where routine questions go and how genuinely urgent messages are flagged.
- Explain status signals: Make “focusing” and “available” mean something everyone understands. Don’t rely on headphones alone.
- Adjust meetings: Use a quieter room if available, check that everyone can hear and share a written summary.
- Check access needs: Ask privately what helps. Don’t assume captions, audio or a particular room work equally well for everyone.
Report what’s happening, clearly.
Send your manager, facilities team or safety contact the date, approximate times, location and impact on work. Describe what you observed without guessing at noise levels or blaming individual workers.
Example: “Drilling was audible at the east-side desks from about 10 to 11 this morning. I had to pause two calls because I couldn’t hear the other person. Is there a work schedule available, and can we arrange an alternative call space?”
If the noise feels unsafe or causes symptoms, use your workplace’s safety reporting process promptly rather than waiting for the next team check-in.