Open-plan office or cafe noise: what can change

In an open-plan office or a cafe, ideas people use include a seat away from busy spots, headphones or earplugs, and a quieter room for some tasks. Guidance for autistic adults and for adults with ADHD lists these ^[1][2][3][4].

Below are the ideas, what studies add, and some sentences you can borrow and change.

What can help with noise in an open-plan office or cafe?

Guidance pages give a similar set of ideas. These are ideas people and organisations suggest.

The National Autistic Society (NAS) lists noise-cancelling headphones or earbuds, a workstation away from noisy machines such as printers, partitions instead of completely open plan, and a meeting room when quiet is needed ^[1]. It also says some autistic people may find an adjustment unhelpful, so a list like this is a menu to try from ^[1].

For adults with ADHD, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) lists a quiet work space, noise cancellation or white noise, and a private workspace ^[2]. CHADD suggests asking for a private office or quiet cubicle, or using an unused room such as a conference room ^[3]. Understood suggests looking for a quieter area first, and headphones or earplugs if there is none ^[4].

Workplace rules differ between countries.

Why can background talk be hard to follow in a busy room?

In a 2024 survey of 79 autistic adults, background voices were the hardest listening condition asked about, harder than loud music or loud machinery. The number of people talking was the factor people named most ^[5]. The survey described cafes and offices as typical places with many voices.

In a 2022 interview study, 9 autistic adults described other voices pulling their attention away, and listening getting harder as more sounds were present. Most preferred talking one to one ^[6]. One person described a noisy call-centre job as one they dreaded going to ^[6].

For ADHD, a 2016 lab study compared 32 adults with ADHD and 32 adults without. memory for a list was affected more by background sound in the ADHD group ^[7].

Which seats and times do people and guidance suggest?

NAS suggests a workstation away from busy areas and noisy machines, and a fixed desk instead of hot-desking, which can make a space more predictable ^[1].

For times, CHADD mentions working when others are not in the office ^[3]. JAN describes one employee with ADHD whose start and end times were adjusted, as a single case example ^[8].

In the interview study, autistic adults described choosing quieter settings and limiting group size ^[6]. An ADDitude writer lists coffee shops among places that can work as a productivity zone ^[9]. Other ADDitude readers prefer silence ^[10].

What sound options do people use?

Headphones or earplugs appear on NAS, JAN, Understood and CHADD pages ^[1][8][4][3]. In the interview study, autistic adults described using high-fidelity earplugs ^[6]. One ADDitude reader said earbuds did not block the sound of coworkers in an open office ^[10].

For ADHD, steady sound is a separate question. JAN and CHADD both mention white noise ^[2][3]. A 2024 review of 13 studies found a small benefit of white or pink noise on lab tasks for children and young adults with ADHD. Working adults were not studied ^[11]. CHADD calls the evidence inconclusive, says most research was in children, and suggests stopping if the sound distracts ^[12]. Reader views on background sound differ, from "silence is golden" to "noise helps" ^[10].

What can you ask a manager or a cafe for?

At work, the guidance pages list the same few requests:

• a quiet room or meeting room for some tasks ^[1][3][4]
• a desk away from the busiest area, or a partition ^[1][8]
• a fixed desk ^[1]
• flexible hours, or working from home on some days ^[1][2][8]
• noise kept low in meetings ^[13]

Acas, in the UK, suggests a quiet place away from distractions and, for sensory overload, a private quiet space and noise-cancelling headphones ^[14].

For a cafe, the nearest idea is the one from the interview study: a quieter setting and a smaller group ^[6]. A written request is another option, and asking for questions in writing at work has more on that.

What can you say to colleagues who talk nearby?

To a colleague who stops by your desk:

"I'm in the middle of something. Can I find you when I'm done?"

Before putting headphones on:

"I'm using headphones. Message me if it's urgent."

When asking about a seat:

"I can concentrate when fewer voices are around. Could I sit by the wall?"

To a manager, about calls:

"The noise in the main room makes it hard to follow people. Could I take calls in a meeting room?"

For a meeting that is going to be loud:

"Could we have this call in a smaller room?"

With a friend in a cafe:

"Could we move to a quieter table? It's easier for me to hear you there."

What if the noise cannot change?

Some rooms stay as they are. Autistic adults in the interview study described asking others to face them or repeat, and leaving or avoiding loud events. Most had worked these out on their own ^[6]. One described using an alcove near a lift because the workplace had no quiet room ^[6].

Some people feel flat afterwards. Recovering after a supermarket or crowded place and different kinds of tired cover that part, and sensory overload in adults goes into overload itself.

About this article

• The ideas come from guidance pages (NAS, JAN, Understood, CHADD, ADDitude, Acas), an interview and a survey study with autistic adults, and two studies with ADHD. The sentences to say are Mindum's own wording.
• The autism studies were with 79 and 9 autistic adults ^[5][6]. The ADHD studies were a lab study of 32 adults ^[7] and a review that included children and young adults ^[11]. The 2016 lab study and the 2024 review are summarised from their abstracts.
• If noise at work or in public keeps getting in the way of daily life, a clinician who knows autism or ADHD can look at that with you.

Sources

1. National Autistic Society. What support can I get at work as an autistic person? Undated page. autism.org.uk
2. Job Accommodation Network. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). Undated page. askjan.org
3. CHADD. Workplace issues. Undated page. chadd.org
4. Understood. Workplace supports: Focus challenges. 28 March 2023. understood.org
5. Bendo GJ, Sturrock A, Hanks G, Plack CJ, Gowen E, Guest H. The diversity of speech-perception difficulties among autistic individuals. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments. 2024;9. doi:10.1177/23969415241227074
6. Sturrock A, Guest H, Hanks G, Bendo G, Plack CJ, Gowen E. Chasing the conversation: Autistic experiences of speech perception. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments. 2022;7. doi:10.1177/23969415221077532
7. Pelletier MF, Hodgetts HM, Lafleur MF, Vincent A, Tremblay S. Vulnerability to the irrelevant sound effect in adult ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders. 2016;20(4):306-316. doi:10.1177/1087054713492563 (abstract only)
8. Job Accommodation Network. Accommodating distracting work spaces. November 2019. askjan.org
9. Kolberg J. Everyone has a productivity zone. ADDitude. Updated 8 October 2020. additudemag.com
10. ADDitude Editors. Background noise vs. silence: ADHD adults on music and focus. ADDitude. Updated 12 May 2025. additudemag.com
11. Nigg JT, Bruton A, Kozlowski MB, Johnstone JM, Karalunas SL. Systematic review and meta-analysis: do white noise or pink noise help ADHD? Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2024;63(8):778-788. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2023.12.014 (abstract only)
12. CHADD. White noise for staying on task. 20 March 2020. chadd.org
13. Understood. 32 examples of workplace accommodations. 12 October 2020, modified 13 February 2023. understood.org
14. Acas. Adjustments for neurodiversity. Updated 30 January 2025. acas.org.uk

By Mindum. An app to track and regulate emotions, energy, and focus.