Everything old is new again.
This adage does not just apply to the clothes that we wear. It also applies to the way that office space is used and the latest trends in the way that shared work spaces are designed. After the last few decades of many companies getting rid of large offices for all executives and creating open work environments for entire companies, there are now many companies who are really going old school by installing phone booth office designs throughout an entire building. Complete with a light that is turned on when the room is in use, many of these phone booth office designs are grouped together in banks the same way they might have been found in public spaces like airport terminals in the past.
Although an open work environment allows for greater collaboration and transparency, there are still many times when a private phone conversation is better in a separate room. Large enough to accommodate a private conversation, but still small enough to discourage staying in this space for long amounts of time, the latest soundproof phone booth for office designs are a growing trend in many offices across the country.
Phone Booth Office Spaces Provide Efficient Spaces in Many Work Environments
When the new ways are not being as effective as they can be it should come as no surprise that the top companies are making adjustments. Research has indicated that soundproofing an office can eliminate 51% of conversational distractions, so an increasing number of businesses are making adjustments to the open work environments that they have used in the past. In many of the hottest tech companies where HR representatives see see as many as 200 hundred applicants for one open internship making the best use of space is a priority. As a result, office phone booths are becoming more common in some of these spaces. Sleek booths that actually resemble wooden telephone booths from old are now popular spots for employees who need to participate in a one on one conversation.
In addition to eliminating distractions, soundproofing an office can also reduce employee stress by 27% and has also been shown to decrease work errors by 10%, so any initial investment in these spaces is often quickly recouped.