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Headphones that are good for working from home are also helpful in a hybrid working world. Whether you’re fully or partially working from home, you still need a well-stocked home office, including work from home headphones that filter background noise and tune out distractions. A high-quality pair of work from home headphones with active noise cancellation will help you communicate well in virtual office meetings and business calls.
Headphones used for working should offer top-notch sound quality and comfort since you’ll be wearing them for hours on end. They should also include excellent communications features for making voice calls, including any sort of video chats. Good noise reduction is key, as is being able to hear your own voice in the headphones as you talk so you don’t end up shouting. Good bonus features include strong battery life and multipoint Bluetooth pairing, allowing you to switch between two devices.
You may specifically be looking for a headset or headphones designed to work with Unified Communications applications and certified for Skype for Business, optimized for Microsoft Lync and suitable for softphones from Cisco, Avaya and Skype. I’ve included some UC headphones on this list, but the majority of these are mainstream consumer headphones that also work well on the go. We have curated this list of the best headphones for work as a tool to help you see which features each brings to the table so that you can decide which fit is best for you.
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David Carnoy/CNET
The QuietComfort 45 has virtually the same design as its predecessor, the , which many people considered one of the most comfortable over-ear headphones — if not the most comfortable. (And, if comfort doesn’t make them the best headphones for working, what would?) It has the same drivers, according to Bose, and the buttons are in the same place. However, there are small but notable changes. First off, these thankfully have USB-C instead of micro-USB.
Secondly, the microphone configuration is different. Not only have the mics been shifted on the headphones, but there’s now an extra external microphone for voice pick-up, which means the QC45 has a total of six microphones, four of which are beamforming and used for voice. By contrast, the QC35 II has a total of four, two of which are used for voice. (The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 also have six microphones total.)
The end result is these are excellent for making calls. They’re similar to the Bose Headphones 700 in that regard and also feature top-notch noise canceling, as well as multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect them with a PC and your phone simultaneously. .
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When you have a product that a lot of people love, change can be risky. Such is the case for Sony’s WH-1000XM5, the fifth generation of the 1000X series headphones, which were first released in 2016 as the MDR-1000X Wireless and have become increasingly popular as they’ve improved with each generation. Over the years, Sony has made some tweaks to the design, but nothing as dramatic as what it’s done with the WH-1000XM5. Other than the higher $400 price tag ($50 more than the WH-1000XM4), most of those changes are good, and Sony’s made some dramatic improvements with voice-calling performance as well as even better noise canceling and more refined sound.
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Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700
The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, the successor to Bose’s model — now replaced by the QuietComfort 45 — offer slightly better sound than the QuietComfort 45 and very good noise cancellation along with top-notch headset performance for voice calls (the QC45’s noise canceling is a touch better). They’re a strong all-around audio performer with up to 20 hours of battery life and a durable design. Some will find the QuietComfort 45 headphones slightly more comfortable, but the Headphones 700 has a more robust feature set, including the ability to adjust EQ and noise-canceling levels.
At launch, they cost $400, but they’ve recently come down in price. We’ve seen the white version dip as low as $299 while the black and silver versions have hit $340. That said, the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones, their closest competitor, has also seen nice discounts.
They’re also now available in a that includes a Bose USB Bluetooth link module for pre-pairing with PCs. That model — — is Microsoft Teams-certified.
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Plantronics’ original Voyager Focus UC has long been considered one of the best work-from-anywhere headsets. Now we get the Voyager Focus 2 UC from Poly (the company Plantronics morphed into after it acquired Polycom), and it’s improved in several ways, including better noise reduction (it’s stellar), two levels of active noise canceling, increased battery life (up to 19 hours with ANC off and 16 hours with it on) and superior wireless range with Bluetooth 5.1.
You can pair the Voyager Focus 2 UC with your computer with the included USB dongle or your phone (or tablet) via Bluetooth. It can also connect to a desk phone if you want to bring it to the office. Also worth noting: The boom microphone has a mute button on it, but when you flip it up it also automatically mutes the microphone. The original Voyager Focus doesn’t mute when you lift the boom microphone.
The Focus 2 comes in several different versions, including USB-A and USB-C models and a version that’s Microsoft Teams certified. You can get the headset by itself or in a bundle that includes a charging dock. All versions include a nice protective carrying pouch.
The Voyager Focus 2 UC is expensive but offers excellent performance and is quite comfortable for an on-ear headphone. It also sounds good for music listening with nicely detailed sound and ample bass. It may not be quite up to the level of the Sony WH-1000XM4 for music, but it offers a nice music listening experience for a work-centric headset.
The original Voyager Focus UC (see below) can be had for closer to $150, so expect this next-gen to come down in price with time. I don’t know if it’s worth double the price, but it clearly performs better and has a swankier design than the original.
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The new AirPods Pro (2nd generation) are powered by Apple’s new H2 chip, which delivers more processing power while being more energy efficient, according to Apple. The new chip, combined with new low-distortion drivers, allows for improved sound that offers better clarity and depth. The noise canceling is also improved — Apple says the new AirPods have «double» the noise canceling of the original AirPods Pro. Additionally, the new AirPods add an extra hour of battery life, up from five to six hours with noise canceling on. Plus, a speaker in the case that emits a sound that helps locate your buds via Find My should they decide to hide from you.
Note that while Apple has discontinued the , they’ll remain on sale until supplies are exhausted. However, most people should get this newer model if they can afford it.
Water-resistant: Yes (IPX4 rating — splash-proof).
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Jabra
Released in mid-2020, the Jabra Elite 45h were essentially billed as the best on-ear headphones for the money and among the best headphones for work. While there’s nothing terribly fancy about them, they are a great value for on-ear headphones, with good sound quality, a sturdy design and comfortable fit — for on-ear headphones, anyway. They perform well as a headset for making calls too, and include a sidetone feature that allows you to hear your voice so you don’t talk too loudly. Battery life is also good and it has multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect to both your computer and your smartphone at the same time, and easily switch between the two should a call come in on your phone. It mostly works.
Available in multiple color options, it lists for $100 but sporadically gets discounted to $70 and sometimes less; sometimes certain colors cost less than others.
Note that the , which has an integrated boom microphone, is essentially the souped-up office version of these headphones.
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AfterShokz has turned its bone-conduction headphones into a more communications-friendly headset with an integrated boom microphone. Since these leave your ears open (the sound is conducted through your cheekbone), they aren’t for people who want to seal their ears out from outside noise. Rather, the idea is that you can hear everything around you without having anything covering your ears or jammed inside them. Some folks find that liberating.
While AfterShokz are arguably the best-sounding bone-conduction headphones, they aren’t great-sounding for music because they’re lacking in the bass department. However, they’re great for speech so they work very well as a headset for making calls, with good noise reduction. These also have multipoint-Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair them with your phone and PC and easily switch to your phone if a call comes in while you’re on your computer. (.)
As long as you don’t mind the book microphone, you can use the OpenComm for sporting activities as well. The Aeropex and other AfterShokz headphones are favorites for runners who want to keep their ears open to hear the outside world for safety reasons. They’re also water-resistant. The only downside is they require a proprietary charging cable instead of USB-C. Battery life is rated at 16 hours of talk time and eight hours of listening time.
David Carnoy/CNET
Known for its value headphones and earbuds, JLab offers a pair of on-ear headphones with an integrated boom microphone (it can be rotated up when just listening to music) and multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect them to your phone and computer simultaneously. I’m more partial to the Jabra Elite 45h, which list for $100 but usually sell for around $75. But if you don’t want to spend quite that much, the Go Work are solid headphones — and a good headset — for the modest price. They’re also comfortable to wear with a lightweight design. You won’t mistake these for premium headphones, but the build quality means that they are among the best headphones online classes for associates degree in early childhood education work under $50.
Battery life is rated at up to 45 hours at moderate volume levels, and you can mute calls using the multifunction button (an LED lights up at the end of the boom mic when the call is muted). I wouldn’t call the sound quality for music listening and the headset performance stellar, but it’s good, particularly for the price. For music listening, there’s ample bass and clarity and a cable is included for wired use. The headphones charge via USB-C.
David Carnoy/CNET
I was a fan of headphones that came out in 2015 and had a decidedly retro look and feel, with good sound for the money. Now they’re available in a 2.0 version that has some key upgrades, including Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C charging, improved call quality and multipoint Bluetooth pairing that allows you to pair it to two devices simultaneously. Battery life is rated at up to 22 hours.
I was able to pair this wireless headphone set with a Mac Mini and an iPhone 12 Pro and then switch audio between them. Often when pairing Bluetooth headphones with Mac and Windows PCs, one can encounter some issues, but once I got the headphones paired with both my PC and phone, they made a good pair of work-from-home headphones. Also, the price is right for parents looking for a decent set of kids’ headphones for remote learning and everyday use.
Comfortable for on-ear headphones, the Jam V2s are lightweight and have nicely balanced sound with good detail and bass that’s ample but not overpowering. Call quality was good in my tests with callers saying they could hear me well even on the noisy streets of New York. No carry pouch is included, but you do get an extra set of foam ear pads, which is good, because they will wear out over time.
The headphones have physical buttons for controlling volume and playback, and there’s aptX support for devices that support the wireless streaming codec.
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If you’re an Apple-centric person who works on a MacBook and also has an iPhone (and maybe an iPad), Apple’s AirPods Max noise-canceling headphones allow you to easily connect to multiple Apple devices simultaneously (so long as you’re signed into your iCloud account on all the devices) and switch between them. If you’re on a Zoom teleconference and a call comes in on your iPhone, the AirPods Max automatically switch to the iPhone if you pick up the call.
They sound great, and with all their microphones they do an excellent job picking up your voice and reducing ambient noise. Aside from their high price, their other potential downside is their heavy weight. Although I found them comfortable, some people have trouble with that.
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David Carnoy/CNET
No earbuds are perfect, of course, and not everybody will love the fit of the Sony WF-1000XM4 buds or be able to afford their high price. But if you’re looking for great-sounding earbuds with great noise canceling, solid voice-calling capabilities and good battery life, these buds check all the boxes.
Alas, they don’t feature multipoint Bluetooth like the over-ear WH-1000XM4 (it’s really their only missing feature), but their voice-calling capabilities have significantly improved. You can pair these with multiple devices but they won’t automatically switch between your PC and phone when a call comes in.
David Carnoy/CNET
Jabra recently released the Evolve2 30, a new more affordable wired on-ear office headset with an integrated boom microphone. It’s lightweight and comfortable and comes in USB-C and USB-A versions, as well as stereo and mono versions (I tried the USB-A stereo version). Alas, it’s hard to get at the moment — apparently, there’s plenty of demand for office headphones/headsets at this price point.
The headphones are OK for music listening, but they’re primarily meant for voice applications. They feature dual microphones — one for picking up your voice and the other to help reduce ambient noise around you so callers can hear you better.
Shure
If you’re looking for clean-sounding headphones with more of a neutral sound profile, the well-built Shure Aonic 50 is exactly that. The treble is clear and articulate and the bass is well-defined but may be a little underpowered for those who want a little more oomph. The noise canceling is good but not quite up to the level of top noise-canceling models from Bose and Sony that cost a little less.
The headphones fold flat but they’re a bit bulky, as is their case. But they work very well as a headset for making calls — Shure is known for making excellent microphones — so they’re good work-from-home headphones that are comfortable to wear, though they might be a little big for some folks.
While the Aonic 50 initially suffered from being a little too expensive (it started out at $400 but has now come down to as low as $250 for the brown version), they’re excellent headphones that seem built to last. Battery life is rated at 20 hours — they charge via USB-C — and they support a variety of audio codecs, including aptX, aptX HD, aptX Low Latency audio, Sony LDAC, AAC and SBC.
David Carnoy/CNET
If you’re looking for a souped-up version of the Elite 85h, the recently released Evolve2 85 offers even better telephony options along with a Unified Communications USB dongle for PCs. While it has similar sound quality to the 85h, it has an updated audio chipset, a hideaway boom arm and two additional microphones (10 altogether, with the extra two in the boom arm) for noise reduction and picking up your voice. Its build quality is also a step up. A Microsoft Teams-certified version is available for those who need it.
I found it comfortable to wear over several hours — it offers an impressive 37 hours of battery life or slightly more than the Elite 85h.
Downside: It lists for a whopping $494, though it sometimes sells for less.
David Carnoy/CNET
This enterprise-level model from Epos is essentially a souped-up version of the Sennheiser PXC 550 with superior telephony and PC connectivity. It’s comfortable and has excellent noise-canceling. The voice performance is top-notch and it’s Microsoft Teams certified. Battery life is rated at 30 hours, which is very good.
The only downside is that it still uses Micro-USB instead of USB-C for charging (the new Sennheiser PXC 550 II has USB-C).
David Carnoy/CNET
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David Carnoy/CNET
Recently, Jabra announced its new , but the Elite 85t should stick around for a while and will hopefully be discounted. It’s a slightly bigger version of the 75t that features more powerful active noise canceling. Its new oval-shaped tips are designed to offer users a more comfortable fit, but the Elite 75t may actually be a better fit for some people’s ears.
The Elite 85t includes a wireless charging case, larger 12mm drivers for improved sound and six-microphone technology — three on each ear, two on the outside, one on the inside — for improved voice calling with better noise reduction (four of the microphone are used for active noise canceling).
Like the Elite 75t (and new Elite 7 Active and Elite 7 Pro), these earbuds feature multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can pair them with your phone and computer at the same time (and take calls with your phone when they come in). They’re IPX4 splash-resistant and deliver five and a half hours of battery life with noise canceling on and seven hours with it off.
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David Carnoy/CNET
Microsoft’s over-ear noise-canceling Surface Headphones 2 were released earlier in 2020, and the biggest change from their predecessor is the price: The launched at $350, while the Headphones 2 now cost $230. Like the original, there’s a lot to like about this second-gen model. While they’ve lost their hands-free Cortana voice-control feature (a change no one will lament) and the sound quality hasn’t improved (it’s quite good but not stellar), the combination of some small design tweaks, better battery life, upgraded Bluetooth and the new lower price help bump their rating up and make them more recommendable.
Their multipoint Bluetooth pairing capability allows you to pair them with two devices at the same time (such as a computer and phone) and quickly switch the audio from each device to the headphones. That’s an appealing feature from a work-from-home standpoint. So, if you are a Microsoft user, they could be among the best headphones for work if they fit your other needs. These also work well for making voice calls on your phone.
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David Carnoy/CNET
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro are slightly superior to the new, slightly more affordable Galaxy Buds 2 — at least when it comes to sound, noise-canceling performance and water-resistance (they’re fully waterproof). They also have a couple of features missing from the Buds 2, including Samsung’s new 360 Audio virtual surround feature that’s similar to Apple’s spatial audio (360 Audio only works with certain Galaxy devices, but the list is growing).
The Buds Pro are mostly impressive, although just how good you think they are will ultimately depend on how well they fit your ears. For some people, the smaller Galaxy Buds 2 will be the better fit — and better choice.
The Buds Pro performed very well in my voice-calling tests. Samsung says they have three microphones, plus a Voice Pickup Unit, and they’re equipped with noise-reduction technology that helps eliminate wind noise in particular. Callers said my voice sounded a touch clearer when I was using the AirPods Pro, but the noise reduction was good with the Buds Pro and people said they could hear me well even in fairly noisy environments. Like the Galaxy Buds Plus, while they easily switch between Samsung Galaxy devices, they don’t have true multipoint Bluetooth pairing (for connecting to two devices simultaneously). However, they do include Microsoft’s Swift Pair feature, which allows to more easily pair them to a Windows 10-based PC.
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Amazon
An oldie but goodie, the Plantronics Voyager Focus UC allows you to switch between a Bluetooth connection on a smartphone or tablet and a computer. You may find these to be the best headphones for work if you want lightweight, comfortable on-ear headphones that have excellent noise reduction. They also have a retractable boom microphone so people have no problem hearing your voice, and you can hear your voice in the headphones.
Jabra
Jabra’s Evolve 65E UC is an around-the-neck model that offers a comfortable, secure fit. You get three sizes of stabilizing fins along with three sizes of ear tips. This version is Skype for Business and UC certified and the included USB Bluetooth adapter allows you to be connected to your PC (Windows or Mac) at the same time as your smartphone.
While these headphones are decent for music listening — they’re a little shy on the bass — they excel as a headset for making phone calls, with good noise reduction, especially wind noise. The integrated inline microphone sits close to your mouth so people have no problem hearing you. Battery life is rated at 13 hours.
Note that this is the business-grade version of the Elite 65e. Jabra also makes the step up Evolve 75E UC that features active noise canceling. I didn’t think the noise canceling was great, however, so it’s probably best to save the money and get the 65E UC.
David Carnoy/CNET
While Logitech calls its Zone Wireless a headset, they’re really on-ear active noise-canceling headphones with an integrated boom mic. What makes them unique is that you can set them on a Qi wireless charging pad to juice up their battery, which is rated for up to 15 hours of battery life talk time or music listening. The headset also charges via Micro-USB.
I found them to be a comfortable fit, especially for on-ear headphones, and they’re great for making calls, with a sidetone feature that lets you hear your voice inside the headset so you don’t speak too loudly while having conversations. The only drawback is that the headset sounds just OK for music and audio listening, not great. While they’re not really meant to be mobile headphones, you can walk around with them on just fine and their multidevice pairing feature allows you to easily switch between your phone and a computer.
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