The way employees work in an office environment is evolving, and the offices of today must be able to adjust and adapt to suit the needs of their staff.
The standard workspace we imagine as place with cubicles or open space has gone through several iterations over the last few decades.
Office design in 2022 may take a variety of shapes but the ‘90s style workplace where each person has a desk and cubicle is still popular – mainly because it’s a cost-effective design that allows more workers to be squeezed into limited square footage.
Open offices have their advantages – they encourage collaboration and communication between employees and, as already mentioned, they’re an economical form of office planning.
However, these perks are offset by many other negatives. Open spaces can be noisy and visually distracting. They can damage productivity and even employee health. Traditional open offices assume that everyone works in the same way and they don’t make any provisions for different working styles and different personalities.
So what’s the solution if you want the advantages of an open plan office without the downsides?
How can you provide a quiet and distraction-free space for employees who need focus and concentration, while still encouraging collaboration, communication, and creativity between individuals?
Zenbooth Phone Pods Help Create An Agile Workspace
Office managers and designers have come to realize that there’s no one solution that meets every individual’s needs exactly.
Rather than choosing between standard open offices and private or smaller group offices, newer office design takes a balanced approach with elements that can be moved and adjusted to mold to the needs of a continually changing workforce.
Flexible open offices, or agile workspaces as they’re often known, combine the best of both worlds with a combination of open, collaborative workspaces and distraction-free quiet zones.
With this style of office design, you identify groups of employees or teams that share similar tasks and work styles. You can then design around these groups, creating functional spaces for them to work together.
As well as open work areas, designated quiet zones are provided for tasks that need focus and concentration, or any other activities that need a quiet environment such as making phone calls.
And perhaps most importantly, the entire space is designed to be flexible so it can be changed and adapted for different purposes.
Employees aren’t expected to sit in a cubicle or at a designated desk for eight hours a day. Instead, they are allowed freedom and flexibility to move between different work zones as it suits their mood or task.
For example, projects that require working closely with other colleagues may be suited to an “open office” zone with workstations and seating designed for easy communication and collaboration.
Informal meeting areas can provide a creative working environment that’s ideal for group brainstorming, as well as breaks and socializing. Remember – it’s important to provide comfortable places for these “non-work” activities too. A rested employee will be more productive and an inviting social space can also promote teamwork and better relationships between employees.
To provide for the need for privacy, concentration, and quiet, closed off smaller work areas must also be provided. They can be used by individuals or small groups as and when it’s needed.
Many businesses have realized the benefits of providing small work booths or “phone pods” for this purpose. These pods easily be added moved around to provide the ultimate flexible working solution.
Features Inside Modern Phone Pods
The Zenbooth is a fully enclosed booth designed for one to six people (depending on the model). It is equipped with comfortable desk space, electrical and USB outlets, and motion activated ventilation fans.
Made from insulated maple wood, aluminum, safety glass, and plexiglass, these phone pods provide a bright and spacious but private space to work that removes the visual and auditory distractions that come with an open office.
Zenbooth provides a silent and private workspace for making phone calls, private meetings and conversations, and focused solo or small team work that needs a distraction-free environment.
Zenbooths are completely freestanding, they can easily be incorporated into your existing office space without the need for expensive and disruptive remodeling.
Benefits of Using Zenbooth In Your Office
An open office containing a Zenbooth provides a number of benefits over traditional open and closed office design:
- Protection from sound – Each Zenbooth model is insulated with 3.5” of sound-dampening material and echo-absorbing aluminum panels that ensure privacy and quiet.
- Bright natural lighting – Zenbooth comes with a full skylight ceiling so there’s no need for artificial lighting. This creates a more spacious feeling than other types of work or phone pods and eliminates eye strain.
- Automatic ventilation system – Motion-activated fans provide a climate-controlled atmosphere so you can stay cool while you work. The air is fully exchanged every minute, unlike old-fashioned stuffy phone booths.
- Comfortable – All office pods include an anti-fatigue mat for comfortable working at an ergonomic standing desk or a work stool can be used for seated working. There’s also the option to install an adjustable-height desk and use a standard desk chair.
- Small freestanding design is easy to install – There's no need to shut your office down while you’re installing a Zenbooth. Just build, plug in, and you’re ready to go.
- Modern sleek design – White or a natural maple finish fits into any office style without looking out of place.
- Made in California from eco-friendly materials – All materials used in the Zenbooth are sourced locally from sustainable or recycled sources. One tree is planted for every booth sold
- Durable and sturdy – These phone pods are designed and tested to stand up to the abuse of an office environment and are easy to clean.
- Fully compliant with workplace regulations – Our phone pods are designed according to fire, accessibility, and HR regulations.
- Easy to assemble – They are shipped flat-packed and ready to install so they are ready for use the same day they are delivered
Specifications of Zenbooth Models
Zenbooth is available in three different models to suit the needs of your office. The flexibility and modular nature of Zenbooth mean you can start with just one office phone pod and add additional ones later as your workspace or number of employees grow.
Comfort Booth
The Comfort Booth is the smallest Zenbooth phone pod and is designed for one person to focus and make phone calls in a quiet and private environment. Its features include:
- ½” shatterproof plexiglass skylight
- Self-closing aluminum door with tempered safety glass
- Anti-fatigue mat flooring
- Dual fast charging USB outlets
- 2 x 15A 110V electrical outlets
- Grommet for data and telephone cables
- 3.5” thick walls with recycled denim insulation and echo-absorbing aluminum panels
- 30” wide work surface at a height of 41”
- Wall panels in maple or white
- Twin ventilation fans with occupancy sensors
- An adjustable desk can be added for an additional fee
Executive Booth
Companies that need quiet space for two employees to work together, or to conduct interviews or performance reviews, may want to consider the Executive Booth. This extra-large room provides a quiet area for up to two employees working closely, or a more spacious working area for an individual. Features include:
- ½” shatterproof plexiglass skylight
- Self-closing aluminum door with tempered safety glass
- Anti-fatigue mat flooring
- Dual fast charging USB outlets
- 2 x 15A 110V electrical outlets
- Grommet for data and telephone cables
- 3.5” thick walls with recycled denim insulation and echo-absorbing aluminum panels
- 15% larger interior than the standard comfort booth
- 31” wide work surface at a height of 41”
- Wall panels in maple or white
- Twin ventilation fans with occupancy sensors
- An adjustable desk can be added for an additional fee.
Executive Room
If you need a meeting room for small groups or for more than two employees to work together, the Zenbooth Executive Room is the ideal solution.
This freestanding privacy room offers the flexibility to use your own work surfaces and seating. The interior measures 84 x 84 inches, providing enough space for up to four people to work comfortably alongside each other.
Features include:
- ½” shatterproof plexiglass skylight
- Self-closing aluminum door with tempered safety glass
- Dual fast charging USB outlets
- 2 x 15A 110V electrical outlets
- Grommet for data and telephone cables
- 3.5” thick walls with recycled denim insulation and echo-absorbing aluminum panels
- Wall panels in maple or white
- Twin ventilation fans with occupancy sensors
Why Choose Zenbooth?
You have many options when it comes to office design, so if you’re planning an interior remodel for the coming year, why should you opt for our office phone booths?
Consider some of the following benefits they offer to your employees and your business.
1. Increase employee focus and productivity
It’s well known that the distractions and noisy atmosphere of a standard open office environment can hamper productivity.
70% of offices today have no partitions or only low partitions, causing disruptions in the workplace. Between 25% and 30% of workers in these offices say that the level of noise is too high, and cite other issues such as lack of privacy, air quality, temperature, and level of light as sources of dissatisfaction.
By providing Zenbooth phone pods as a quiet place to focus on work, you can improve the productivity of your employees and increase worker satisfaction as a whole.
2. Improve privacy and professionalism of phone calls
It’s difficult to come across as a professional organization when you’re talking to a client and they can overhear your colleague’s conversations in background.
An open plan environment can also cause difficulties when you need to have a conversation that involves sensitive information.
It's vital to provide a quiet place for employees to make phone calls. Zenbooths are a purpose-built solution to meet this need.
3. Reduce staff turnover and improve employee health
Open office environments are not only damaging for productivity, but they can also have a detrimental effect on the mental and physical health of employees.
Some individuals actually find working in an open office environment to be quite stressful, particularly for introverts who have nowhere to escape from constant interactions.
Viruses also spread quickly in an open plan office. Workers in open offices take a staggering 62% more sick days than employees in closed offices.
Happy and healthy workers are not only more productive but are also less likely to leave your company in search of better working conditions.
One easy way to give your employees more control over their environment is to provide phone pods for a quiet and relaxing space to work when they need to be free of distractions, or simply want a break from interacting with other colleagues.
Investing in Your Office Space Is An Investment In Your Staff
Providing a comfortable, flexible space with designated zones for quiet and private work will not only improve the productivity and satisfaction of your current employees, but can also attract new talent (millennials in particular), as a modern agile workspace can be a big selling point when it comes to hiring new team members.
If you’re looking to improve the work environment for your employees in 2022 and want to learn more about how Zenbooth can help you to create an ideal office, get in touch with us today.
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