How to Create the Best Privacy for Your Office Space - A Zenbooth Layout Guide

Our team often gets asked for help in planning where Zenbooths should be placed. This article is intended to give you and/or your interior designer some pointers to help you figure out how many phone booths you need, and where to place them.  

However, the first two big guiding principles are: “think flexible” and “less is more”.

Think ‘Flexible’

Our offices have been rearranged many times and often we end up tweaking what “looks good on paper”. All Zenbooth products can be moved after they have been built with furniture sliders.  

We’d recommend brainstorming some layout variations with your team and then trying the preferred layout. You can even make large cardboard cutouts or tape areas based on the dimensions and see how the phone booths feel in certain configurations. 

Less is More

Creating new space in the office is exciting, but it doesn’t take much to be impactful. Incorporating just a few more private spaces may completely change your team's working behavior. If it’s your first time getting office phone booths, you may want to start with ‘starter’ combinations for a small office like 2x Solos and 1x Quad (or a Duo, depending on space).

How many Zenbooths do I need? 

Before phone booths and video conference calls were so popular, a rule of thumb was to have one conference room for every ten employees. But now with hybrid work, the increased desire for private workspaces, and a lot more video calls, that equation shifts. 

Start by figuring out what the privacy needs are for different team members. You may find that with certain roles like recruiting or sales, it is advantageous to have a private space available for more than half the day they’re in the office. This may in some cases mean one Zenbooth for every two salespeople. It sounds like a lot, but it’s far better for the business and the salesperson than them hesitating to make a phone call.

Whereas, four five-person design teams (20 people) who are spending 2-3 hrs in meetings a day may be able to comfortably share three Solos, one Duo, and two Quads. They’ll need less if they have some days working remotely. As you can see, there are no fixed rules, but a lot can be learned to predict your team's needs by looking at their calendars. 

Where should the Zenbooths go?

Here are a few ways you can place Zenbooths:

Compliance

Different jurisdictions have requirements and guidance on the placement of phone booths. A local general contractor or interior designer may be best placed to give advice if you need this. However, at a national level, some things to be mindful of are:

1. Fire code requirements, especially not obstructing sprinkler systems or fire escape routes (read more about fire code compliance)
2. Accessibility – providing sufficient accessible spaces for your employee, and also ensuring that walkways are clear (read more about accessibility)

Plan Review

Interior designers are often best placed to review plans. However, our team is happy to take a look and give general feedback after you’ve brainstormed some plans with your team. 

Send us a copy of your plan to review or set up a meeting with our Customer Success Team, and we'd love to help you find the layout that will work best for your team's privacy needs.