Apropos of banning smoking in prisons as a health measure for staff, how long is it going to take before someone works out that bar and restaurant staff are exposed to unacceptable levels of noise?
If any of our employees are working with tractors, chain saws or anything else which makes a loud noise we’re required to provide ear protection for them.
If we didn’t OSH would be down on us. But music in bars is often far louder than farm machinery yet staff there have no protection at all.
Even without music, noise levels in some bars, restaurants and cafes are often well above comfort level thanks to modern architecture and design which likes hard surfaces and spurns the soft furnishings which help to absorb some of the sounds.
It can’t be good for the staff’s hearing and it’s not ideal for patrons either.
There’s a limit to how many times you can say, sorry, could you say that again. After a while I resort to smiling and nodding over dinner and hoping that’s an appropriate response to a conversation not clearly heard because the background noise drowns out what’s being said.
Posted by homepaddock 
Homepaddock 