Soundproof phone booths are the latest office innovations growing in popularity. They allow for a whole host of benefits, including many that may surprise you.

 

How Workers Benefit From the Privacy of Office Phone Booths

One of the first things your employees will notice when working in a soundproof booth is their new found sense of privacy. Particularly for those who are used to working in an open-plan office, this can be something that feels rare and special.

You may suspect that the first thing an employee does once they have privacy is to slack off. In fact, a number of studies have found that the opposite happens. When someone feels that they are working in a private space, their job performance actually improves.

It seems that we like to be able to work without others listening in. If your employee is talking on the phone, for example, they may feel more comfortable talking to a client, building a rapport, and working out a deal than they would with their colleagues listening in on the conversation.

Both the physical barrier of the booth and the knowledge that it is soundproof will help with this aspect. Workers also expressed that even if they might not use the privacy offered by a booth, just knowing it’s there and available to them lowers their stress levels.

The Need for Cutting Out Unnecessary Noise

The key benefit of an office booth is, of course, the fact that it cuts out noise.

We see immediate benefits to this in the ability to focus on one’s own work more easily. Telephone calls and video conferences are a daily part of office life, but when everyone is doing them at once and talking over one another, it can be very hard to hear your own call.

The distraction of noise, even in the background, can be very distressing on a mental level. Though we don’t always consciously notice it, these noises grab our attention and hold our subconscious in thrall. That means an increase in stress levels which can be very significant over time.

Not only are high levels of stress bad for your health, but they can also have an adverse affect on productivity. You may find your employees often pausing in their work, losing their focus, and having to restart tasks because their concentration is lacking.

Even if you can’t see this happening, it is almost guaranteed to be the case for all employees working in an open-plan office. With a soundproof booth, those problems are completely eliminated.

Office Phone Booths Allow for More Control

One of the big psychological repercussions of an open-plan office is the lack of control on the part of your employee. This can lead to subconscious feelings of helplessness. There’s no way to get away from the noise, nowhere to find any privacy, and no choice as to their work environment.

When you add a separate booth that employees are allowed to use when they need to, you give them back that control. In turn, they will no longer have those feelings of helplessness. This leads to greater productivity, higher morale, and better job satisfaction.

Office Booths Can Isolate Illness and Reduce Downtime

An open-plan office is a place where everyone shares the same air. This means that if one person gets sick, many more are sure to follow. Air conditioning only adds to the problem, circulating the air around the whole office and creating the ideal conditions for bacteria and viruses to spread.

With a private booth for your employees to use, the spread of illness will not be as much of a problem. In fact, it has been found that a private office environment will allow for a 50% reduction in the amount of time off employees take due to illness.

You might be surprised to find that privacy can impact health in such a direct way!

Changing and Adapting Your Office Space

You might argue that private offices can offer many of the same advantages, whether you use a soundproof booth or not. In fact, there is a key advantage that soundproof booths certainly offer, and this cannot be found when you build permanent rooms into your office space.

Soundproof booths are easy to both assemble and disassemble, meaning you won’t need any help moving them around. You can make them mobile using slider pads and put them in a different part of your office space any time you need to.

Why Premade Booths Are The Safe Financial Bet

Soundproof office booths can only provide the above mentioned advantages if they’re made correctly, and it can cost upwards of $10,000 to build one privately.

There are over 50 parts to get right, which is why it’s much easier and more reliable to purchase an already professionally-made booth.

Our booths are insulated with ground-up blue denim, known as R-13 insulation, because it provides both thermal and noise control at an exceptional level.

The interior and exterior of the booths are created from high-grade pre-finished maple wood, giving them a premium feel, and locally-sourced aluminum doors help to keep the booths more eco-friendly.

The ceiling is made from high-grade safety plexi glass, while the door is made of dual pane tempered glass to make it more shatter-resistant. This all ensures that the booths are made of the strongest and best materials possible, giving better isolation results without driving up the price.

As for getting the booths working, you only need a standard 110V three-prong outlet to plug them into. There’s a 15-foot long power cord so you don’t need to have the outlet right where you want the booth to sit. It’s that simple – and as soon as they are plugged in and assembled, you will have working exhaust fans which recycle the air completely in less than two minutes.

These fans are triggered by motion sensors, so employees can use the booth for hours without any change in temperature or humidity. They will likely be more comfortable here than at their desk in an open office work space!

The power source also allows for the use of two three-prong outlets, two fast-charging USB ports, and one open port which is compatible with Ethernet cables. The electrics are all secured up to the national standard for safety, as they are UL listed.

It’s clear that there are many benefits to installing a soundproof booth in your office, and your employees will certainly thank you for doing so. Not only is it great for productivity, health, and job satisfaction, but it also offers a lot of flexibility.

To get in touch with us and learn more about our noise cancelling booths, feel free to use the form on our contact page. You can also call us at 415.323.5358. Thanks for reading.