If you haven’t heard of office privacy booths, you’re in luck. This article will help show the value these booths bring to any company, particularly those suffering from the detriments of an open-office style workspace.
1. Privacy is important
Having an office quiet space to use for importants tasks is very valuable in an open-plan office. There are many reasons why an employee might want some privacy. They may need to take a confidential phone call or work on something that requires a high level of focus and concentration. Or they may wish for some time to themselves so that they can think through a difficult problem.
All of these to-do's are impossible when you're trapped in a noisy office surrounded by distracting coworkers.
An office phone booth can also be a place to retreat to in times of workplace conflict so that all involved parties can cool down, far away from one another, providing the space needed to later resolve the situation.
Privacy can be a very useful tool for a manager, too. Research has found that employees who work in a private environment are actually more productive. Sending someone to a soundproof office phone booth when they need to get a project finished fast can really work wonders.
2. Noise stress can affect mental health
When working in a noisy environment, your staff members may experience a rise in stress levels. As people evolved, it was necessary for us to stay alert and pay attention to all noises around us. Now, we may struggle to filter these noises out, especially from our subconscious.
While many office workers are not aware of it, the strain of a noisy environment can cause stress levels to increase noticeably. This is bad news for mental health, as long-term stress can take a heavy toll. It can even lead to a mental breakdown or time off work for recovery.
This, of course, takes a toll on a company’s output. While it’s important to care for your employees, even those who don’t mind subjecting them to some stress would have to agree that it’s important to keep the business running at its highest possible level.
3. Stress can also affect physical health
It’s not only mental health that can be affected by the stress of background noise. When we are anxious, especially for long periods of time, our immune systems tend to take a tumble. This means that we are more susceptible to common illness such as the flu, which can pass between staff members quickly.
Stressed people are also less likely to sleep well, and more likely to make mistakes.
The bottom line is that stress will make your employees take more time off from work. In fact, studies have found that staff members working in a private environment, with no noise, took off 50% less time for health-related reasons than staff members working in an open office. Office phone booths can be a valuable solution to this serious staff issue.
4. Noise pollution can make phone calls difficult
We’ve all had trouble hearing people on the phone at some point in our lives. If you’re competing against a busy office environment with lots of other voices in the background, it can be almost impossible at times to keep the conversation flowing.
This is especially problematic when dealing with clients who may be calling from an international location or for whom English is not their first language. At times, it could be the difference between making a great business deal or leaving the call with nothing.
Video conferencing is another area to consider. When taking video calls, background noise will be easily heard by those on the call unless your employee wears earphones. This is not an ideal solution, and certainly not when more than one employee needs to be present to take part in the discussion.
An office quiet space takes care of these problems, offering a place where your employees can use their phone or video conference in peace.
5. Office privacy booths offer control
Employees who feel that they have little control over their working situation are more likely to be stressed, anxious, and depressed. Often, as a manager or business owner, you might not be able to do anything about this.
With a private office pod available for staff members to use, you’re providing them more control. They can choose to go into the booth when they need a private, quiet moment. This allows them a sense of freedom and control. Knowing they have a choice, even if they don’t use the booth at all, is helpful to their mental well being.
6. Office privacy booths can help prevent illness from spreading
In an open-plan office, once someone falls sick with a contagious illness, you can almost guarantee that more of your workforce will be out with the same malady. Colds and flus can be passed around an open office far too quickly.
When possible, staff members should stay at home to avoid infecting the rest of the workforce. Sometimes, however, they may have an important project to complete which just can’t wait.
In this case, the office privacy booth is the perfect solution. They won’t be able to spread their illness to others, can work quickly in a peaceful environment, and will soon be on their way home to rest and recover fully.
7. Permanent structures cost time and money to move
When you build a permanent office structure or partition off part of a room for use as a quiet space, it’s there forever. If you choose to spend time and money demolishing your hard work and then rebuilding it somewhere else, the materials alone may cause costs to double.
With an office privacy booth, you only have to use slider pads to make it mobile. As your floors plans change you can take it anywhere in the office you need to.
If you end up moving locations completely, you can disassemble it easily and then reassemble it your new office. This will only take a couple of hours of work – and won’t cost you anything extra at all.
8. When meeting spaces are often taken up, office privacy booths are the solution
Many offices have designated meeting rooms waiting for use. In most cases, you would be able to use these for a private phone call or to get a bit of quiet work done.
But what happens when an employee wants to use the meeting room and it’s already booked? Or when a meeting is scheduled but someone is already in there to use the phone?
The privacy booth is fantastic because it’s a space any employee can use without taking an entire conference room. The conference rooms can be saved for group meetings, while booths can be used for individuals who need quiet time.
9. Remote workers may need to visit
Finally, if you have remote workers on your team, there may come a time when they need to visit the office. In that case, you have a desk and space already available for them! The office privacy booth can easily be used as a suitable workspace.
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.
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