SOLANA BEACH, CA—Privacy and distraction in open offices, along with poor sound quality due to hard surfaces reflecting sound and causing cacophonous reverberation, are some of the issues that can be addressed through better design, John Stein, president of locally based Kirei—a provider of various acoustic treatment solutions—tells GlobeSt.com.

While workplace wellness is a dominant theme in office design, amidst all the chatter of sit/stand desks, proper lighting and healthy food stocked in pantries, we sometimes forget to talk about acoustics. Problems from too much echo and a lack of privacy, to disruptive office chatter and poor division of space or flow are common in today's open-office designs. Kirei turned to a panel of acoustic consultants to create an Official Guide to Office Acoustics.

We spoke with Stein about the acoustic issues modern offices face and how they can be addressed.