Realizing the benefits of quiet environments: Culture matters

Because high-context communicators are comfortable being embedded in a sea of information (Hall, 1983; Munter, 1993), we suggest a restriction in the flow of information by imposing silence would make their job more difficult and result in lower productivity. High-context communicators would likely find the reduction of interruptions to be impediments to their preferred information gathering and communication styles. [...]quiet environments could be viewed as a negative feature of a workplace in a high-context culture. In a cross-cultural work environment, there could be differing interpretations of a quiet environment policy with greater potential for stress, conflict, dissatisfaction, and lower productivity.