Office phone booths have emerged as a win-win solution to the problems associated with open office working environments. With phone booths, there's no more forced work distractions & no more frustration on the part of employees because they lack privacy.
They also provide employers an efficient, cost-effective way to create healthy, productive workplaces. Adding one to the office means companies won't have to invest in expensive renovations to provide workers with an alternative to the stressful open office concept.
Thanks to the immense benefits, the variety of uses, and thoughtful features, Zenbooths have become a modern staple for organizations across the board, from growing businesses to major companies like Bosche and Capital One.
Here are 17 key reasons why an office phone booth or office pod can enhance the way you and your team get stuff done.
Office Phone Booths Improve Employee's Mental Health
Working in an open environment for 8 hours every day can lead to increased stress and anxiety. It comes from the constnat exposure to noise and visual distractions. This condition isn’t just an issue for introverts, who aren’t interested in the high number of social interactions that an open office inspires.
Nor is it solely a concern in toxic work environments where overbearing managers or coworkers can make you want to hide the moment you get to work.
Simply being in a position where your back is unprotected by a wall or other barrier can trigger the release of the stress hormone cortisol.
Your DNA is programmed to signal to your body that you aren’t safe when your back is constantly exposed. You may not actually be at risk of an attack from a mountain lion while sitting at your desk, but that doesn’t mean millions of years of human conditioning aren’t still setting you up for more stress and anxiety.
An office booth offers a safe, quiet space where employees can go to relax, get away from the prying eyes of their boss or coworkers, and just focus on their job.
They Enhance Employee Focus
Not only are office phone booths an escape from an overwhelming open environment. They also encourage better focus at work. When there are no barriers around your work station, you’re going to get distracted. Phone calls, coworker conversations, the sound of people walking by, the copy machine running – anything that creates a loud enough noise or a big enough motion can pull you mentally from your work.
Once someone loses focus, their productivity for the day plummets. One Berlin Humboldt University study demonstrated that it could take up to 23 minutes to restore focus after an interruption. In an open office, interruptions are a natural part of the environment.
The sure way to eliminate all interruptions and to dive into a quality session of deep, focused work is to use an office phone booth.
Increase Professionalism of Company Phone Calls
The reality is, 70% of office spaces in the United States today are open. When trying to make a phone call to a client, a business partner, or other professional contacts, the background noise of an open space can create a bad impression.
Instead of worrying about your co-workers laughing or chatting in the background while you’re on the phone talking business, step into a quiet, sound-dampening office booth to make your call. Zenbooth phone booths were designed to help today’s employees make professional phone calls in peace.
Avoid Noisy Coworkers
From one-quarter to one-third of open office employees say they are dissatisfied with the level of noise in their workplace. When you step into a Zenbooth, you are shielded from outside noise with 3.5 inch-thick wall insulation. The insulation blocks up to 40 decibels of sound. They also come with echo reduction panels to help keep your conversations within the phone booth private.
Lower the Number of Employee Sick Days
The reality is, employees in open offices use as much as 62% more sick days than those who have separate workspaces. In an open space, it’s easier to transmit germs, leaving workers more vulnerable to everything from the common cold to the flu.
With an office booth, you can escape your coughing, sneezing coworkers. Zenbooth’s motion activated fans also help to keep the air in the booth clean – they completely change the air within the booth every sixty seconds.
Reduce Turnover of High-Performance Employees
Having access to a quiet, private workspace can allow high-performance employees to step away from the activity and distraction of an open space to engage in focused work. With larger booths like Zenbooth’s Executive Booth and Executive Room models, employees can go into a booth for important meetings and brainstorming sessions.
Providing a work environment in which high-performance employees can thrive is key to fostering a highly productive workplace and keeping your best performers on board. According to research, 58% of high-performance employees claim they need more quiet at work and over half believe their workplace is too distracting. If your high performers can't work because of their chaotic office environment, you risk losing them to a company that can provide the peace of mind they desire.
Promote Better Health with Standing Desks
Standing desks have been shown to help employees burn more calories. You burn an extra 0.15 calories per minute when compared to sitting at your desk. Especially for health-conscious workers, having the option to stand is essential. Zenbooths come with an electric adjustable desk option – the first in the industry – making the office phone booth even more convenient and comfortable.
Modernize Your Office to Attract Millennials
Millennials are already a massive part of the workforce – by 2020 they will make up 35% of all US employees. Companies that consider the workspace needs and preferences of this generation will be in a better position to attract and retain the best workers.
What’s one of the main focuses of millennial office design? Flexibility! The objective is to offer space for collaboration as well as privacy. Zenbooth's 1-4 person size office phone booths provide both. They also foster a sense of equality and fairness at work – a fundamental must of Millennials - since anyone can use the booths. It's more forward thinking alternative opposed to designating private offices for some employees and forcing the rest into a perpetually open space.
Creates the Ability to Personalize Your Workspace
The whole idea behind an office phone booth is to give people a better working environment than traditional workspaces. That's why Zenbooth has designed office booths that can be personalized. The adjustable desk option lets you create a workspace that fits your body type and your working preference, whether you like to stand, sit – or both. The clean, minimalist interior also allows you to bring in your work materials and make the space your own.
This arrangement is important not just for comfort but also for peace of mind. We are all more productive when we can work in an environment that’s free from clutter. In an open office, you’re surrounded not just by your coworkers, but also by the clutter they bring to the workplace.
Allow for Private One-on-One Meetings
With a large Zenbooth, you can hold one-on-one meetings, which are great for getting collaborative projects done. You can discuss what you’re working on without worrying about distracting other coworkers. It’s also vital for small meetings such as employee reviews and regular meetings with supervisors or team members.
Zenbooth’s Executive size model is spacious enough for two people. The Executive Room is even larger and is designed for several people to use to hold meetings in private. The best part about these larger booths is their flexibility. As free-standing rooms, they can be placed anywhere in the office that makes sense for your company. Then, when it’s time for a meeting, workers can just head over to the booth and talk freely knowing what they say won’t be heard outside.
Office Booths Equipped for Modern Technology
Zenbooths are set up with the features you need to stay connected and charged. You can power your laptop, tablet, smartphone or other devices while inside. Each booth comes with dual 15A 11V electrical outlets, as well as USB outlets and a data port, making it possible to work in the Zenbooth for as long as you need to.
Portable Phone Booths Offer Maximum Workspace Flexibility
One of the advantages of Zenbooth models is that they are portable and lightweight. You can move them from one area to another as needed. Compared to our competitors, we're nearly 1/3 the total weight.
When you want to refresh the workspace, you can move your booths around, creating a new layout. When your staff grows and you need to create more space for more employees, or there’s a need to place different employees closer to each other temporarily, your office booth can go where you need it to be.
Place two or more office booths next to one another to create a barrier within your wide open office. Move one from the center of the room to a corner to open up more space for other needs. Wherever you move the booth, you’ll still have the same benefits of acoustic insulation, well-ventilated air, adjustable desk options, and more.
Office Phone Booths Work Well as a Part of Your Office Neighborhood
A lot of companies are turning to office neighborhoods, which assign workspaces to work ‘communities.’ These communities can include a blend of open space, quiet rooms, collaborative meeting spaces, and small offices. Office phone booths make it easy to cultivate the office neighborhood that works for your business.
Create a secluded, quiet space for deep work with the Comfort Booth. The Executive model can be used as a designated team space. Place your office phone booths where they make the most sense in your office neighborhood.
Provide a Cool, Comfortable Work Space
Breathing in cool, fresh air isn’t just about comfort – when you’re working, good ventilation will help you stay energized and focused. While nothing compares to breathing in the clean air when you go outside, the advanced ventilation system of your office booth makes a Zenbooth one of the healthiest places you can be when at the office.
Zenbooths come with motion-activated fans & when you enter the office booth, the fans turn on, keeping the air at a comfortable temperature while maintaining optimal ventilation.
Zenbooth Promotes Sustainability with Eco-Friendly Materials
Today, both employees and customers want to know that the companies they work for or buy from are making an effort to go green. Using office phone booths made from sustainable materials and created with an eco-conscious design is a leap in the earth-friendly direction.
Zenbooths are built from sustainable wood. As a result, you’ll get a clean, natural aesthetic that will look good in any modern office space, while also knowing that adding one to your workspace isn’t taxing the environment. They're also designed with full skylight ceilings and glass doors to let plenty of natural light flood in.
This interior design prevents eye strain, and it also lowers the need to use electric lighting when in the booth.
Zenbooths Boost the U.S. Economy
And speaking of feel-good purchases, every Zenbooth is manufactured right here in Berkeley, California. Using a local and sustainable supply chain every step of the way, you’ll boost the U.S. economy with your purchase and enjoy great pricing because we aren’t contracting overseas companies to build the booths. We can ship directly from our Bay Area based factory.
Benefits that Keep Getting Better
What could be better than hand-finished office phone booths, made from sustainable materials, that are easy to clean, easy to build, and easy to move around? A product that is ever getting better.
Our in-house design team is always listening to customer feedback, looking for ways to make Zenbooth better and setting up today’s employees for a better day’s work. New versions of the Zenbooth have rolled out over the past year, each with incremental improvements based on customer input.
Learn more about how you can purchase one our affordable office booths today.
Leave a comment: