If I can give just one example, as the manager of a computer department, it was essential that my staff were housed in two separate enclosed areas - one for the data preparation and computer operations staff where noise was inevitable, and the second for the systems and programming staff who needed a quiet environment in which to concentrate and create.

BBC: The pleasures and perils of the open-plan office

She said the number of customers - who would "obviously be cat lovers" - would be limited to maintain a "quiet environment" and sleeping cats would be left undisturbed.

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"A quiet, uninterrupted environment, free of the distractions of managing her business and her assets, including her investments, is essential to her ability to write and to meet her deadlines, " it says.

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He grew up in the quiet environment of a comfortably well-off family, whose attitudes had been shaped by memories of the War itself and the uncertainty of the post-War austerity years.

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One thing to note is how many of the ideas below can be linked by their desire to make the shopping experience more enjoyable, be it through speeding up payments and helping customers skip queues, providing a uniquely quiet and relaxed retail environment, or gamifying shopping by enabling customers to pay with points earned exercising.

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Since most jobs involve an ad-hoc mix of tasks some of which require total concentration and no interruptions it's far better to give people the option of working in a communal environment OR working somewhere quiet.

BBC: The pleasures and perils of the open-plan office

The Workplace Survey identified that while only 22 per cent of managers claim to be unhappy with their immediate physical environment, concerns about a lack of quiet space, under-equipped meeting rooms or inadequate meeting space were high.

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