Statement from Industry Energy Equinor annual meeting – Noise

Industry Energy Equinor recognizes the importance that all our members and colleagues feel comfortable in their physical work environment, catering to the need for positive social contact and belonging.
The way we work in Equinor has permanently changed after the pandemic.
There are less travel and in-person meetings. Digital collaboration on Teams has for many become the preferred way of working – a convenient way to work for employees sitting in separate offices.
Most of our colleagues, however, do not sit in separate offices, their location is in big, open-plan offices. For those sitting in open-plan offices – often performing tasks requiring high levels of concentration – the Teams collaboration from a neighbouring colleague will often be experienced as annoying noise.
Noise is in the ear of the beholder and will be variedly experienced. One colleague may notice sounds in the working environment, whereas another colleague experiences the same sounds as noise ruining his/her concentration, efficiency and motivation for work. Many employees encounter more nuisance regarding work related noise than before.
Industry Energy Equinor request that
The company must speed up the on-going work into noise-cancelling and/or mitigating equipment in office locations throughout the company.
The company must provide an adequate number of focus rooms and separate offices, the number to be adjusted according to our new way of working and the size of each open-plan office.
The workstations must be shielded with noise suppressing partitions, and optional headsets must be available for all employees located in open-plan offices.