Having a work meeting on Zoom from home isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Your dog could be constantly barking, your child could be making barking noises for some reason, or your WiFi could choose that precise moment to take a nap.
While working from home has been a dream for some, others have found it to be a living nightmare.
And now that the peace and quiet of the circuit breaker has ended and various businesses have resumed, some residents are finding their home office to be a little nosier than they’d like.
There’ve Been More Complaints About Renovation Noise As People WFH
Complaints about renovation noise have increased by 60%, as more employees have been forced to work from home due to Covid-19 restrictions.
According to CNA, there were 286 complaints about renovation noise among landed property residents from 2 Jun to 31 Oct this year, much higher than the 178 complaints received in the same period in 2019.
The National Environmental Agency (NEA) told CNA that around 10% of the complaints involved renovation sites where noise levels exceeded the limits.
NEA took enforcement action against the contractors responsible for these sites, the agency said.
On the other hand, the agency noted that overall complaints about construction noise, which includes renovation noise, fell.
There were only 3,682 complaints during the same period this year, down from 4,170 in 2019.
NEA said this is due to the lower number of active construction sites in the initial months after the circuit breaker ended.
HDB was unable to provide figures on complaints about noise from renovation work, however.
“As feedback providers may contact HDB more than once to give feedback on the same case, the total number of feedback received is not representative of the actual number of cases on the ground. Hence, it would not be meaningful to provide such figures,” it told CNA.
It has, however, “stepped up efforts to reduce disamenities” caused by renovation works.
Tips on Dealing with the Noise
So, what do you do if you’re working and renovation noise keeps affecting your concentration?
Well, the most obvious solution would be to get out of the house for the renovation period.
Working at a relative’s house may be equally annoying, but might be the lesser of two evils.
Michael Ong, the assistant secretary of the Singapore Renovation Contractors & Material Suppliers Association, had some interesting advice for frustrated residents.
If the unit being renovated is opposite your apartment, open your windows but close the doors.
This will help keep the vibrations outside the house.
Conversely, if the unit being renovated is above or below yours, open the windows and the doors.
You could also try asking your neighbour if he can put off renovation works temporarily.
If nothing else helps, try earplugs or even noise-cancelling earphones while blasting “Baby Shark”.
If “Baby Shark” can’t take your mind off the renovation noise, nothing will.
Featured Image: Bilanol / Shutterstock.com
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