When everyone came back to the office, the desk screens that went up during the pandemic stayed put. The trouble is, most were picked for hygiene, not for noise, and now they’re being asked to do a job they were never built for.
If you’ve ever sat in a busy open-plan space and struggled to hear a phone call, you’ll know the difference between a barrier that blocks sound and one that only blocks the view. Let’s take a closer look at which materials earn their place and which are mostly for show.
Why Visual Privacy and Sound Control Are Not the Same Thing
A screen can hide a colleague’s monitor without doing anything useful for noise. Sound travels around, over and through thin, rigid panels, so a clear divider might cut down the distractions you can see while doing very little for the ones you can hear.
Real acoustic control comes from mass and absorption. Dense materials block sound from passing through, while soft, porous surfaces soak up the energy that would otherwise bounce around the room. A hard, flat sheet does neither job well, which is why so many of the screens installed during the pandemic disappoint once people start trying to concentrate around them.
The point worth holding onto is simple. If a barrier isn’t designed to absorb or block sound, it won’t, no matter how solid it looks.
Clear Screens: Good for Protection, Not for Quiet
Clear plastic dividers are everywhere in offices, and they do have genuine strengths. A PETG sheet is a good example, with strong impact resistance, good chemical resistance against the sprays used to wipe desks down, and the useful habit of flexing rather than shattering when it’s knocked. That makes it a sensible choice where you want a tough, hygienic, see-through barrier.
What it won’t do is meaningfully reduce noise. A thin, rigid clear sheet works as a visual and hygiene barrier rather than an acoustic one, so it’s the wrong tool if quiet is the goal. It’s worth being honest with clients about that, because the expectation often doesn’t match the material.
Worth knowing too that PETG sits between acrylic and polycarbonate on impact resistance, tougher than acrylic by some margin and lighter on the budget than polycarbonate, which is why it became the default during the pandemic rollout and why so many of those screens are still in place. Used for the right reasons, clear screens are excellent. The mistake is buying them to fix a noise problem they were never going to solve.
Materials That Actually Reduce Sound
When noise is the priority, you’ll want materials chosen for mass, density or absorption. The options that tend to perform are:
- Upholstered acoustic panels with a foam or mineral-wool core, which absorb sound rather than reflecting it
- Composite acoustic barriers that combine a dense blocking layer with an absorbent face
- Perforated screens backed with absorbent material, where the holes let sound reach the core instead of bouncing off
In acoustic terms, two different ratings matter here. Absorption is measured by NRC, which tells you how much sound a surface soaks up inside the room. Blocking is measured by STC, which tells you how well a partition stops sound passing through it. A good specification usually targets both.
Upholstered panels are the workhorses of a quiet office. The soft surface stops sound from echoing, which is why you’ll see them on partitions, ceilings and desk dividers in spaces that have been properly designed.
Perforated screens are worth a mention because they’re easy to get wrong. A perforated panel with nothing behind it just lets sound straight through. It only works when the holes feed into an absorbent layer, so the detail behind the surface matters more than the surface itself.
What This Means for Your Next Fit-Out
If you’re specifying screens, start by deciding what each one is for. A barrier meant to protect or divide can be clear and rigid. A barrier meant to cut noise needs mass, absorption, or both, and that usually rules out a single thin sheet.
The cheapest mistake to avoid is assuming one product does everything. Mix your materials to match the job, and you’ll get a space that looks right and sounds right. Match the material to the actual problem, and your acoustic budget will go a lot further.
