Acoustic Design as a Retention Strategy

Employee turnover is expensive, and a growing body of workplace research points to an unglamorous culprit: noise. Sustained exposure to open-office acoustics is consistently linked to lower job satisfaction and higher attrition intent.

PAAUSE was engineered in collaboration with Nordic furniture manufacturer Holmris B8, applying the same acoustic panel technology used in award-winning library and courtroom design to a single-occupant micro-sanctuary.

The business case

Teams piloting PAAUSE pods report a measurable drop in self-reported burnout scores within eight weeks, alongside softer but consistent signals in exit-interview sentiment. For a 500-person office, even a one-point reduction in annual attrition can offset the entire hardware cost of a pilot.

Design as signal

Beyond the physiological effect, the presence of a dedicated, beautifully designed recovery space sends an unambiguous cultural signal: leadership takes recovery seriously. That signal alone shows up in engagement survey data.