What are office meeting booths and what’s all the fuss
Do office meeting booths improve the office? What are they? Meeting booths are self-contained structures used to create meeting spaces within larger areas of the office space. At large, they offer a room where one or more workers can escape their desks when needed; to seek privacy for calls, a quiet space to concentrate and focus on a given task, and even a space to relax and recharge. They also are incredibly versatile and adaptable products: they come in a variety of sizes, from classic free standing structures to more sturdy floor-to-ceiling structures, from semi-enclosed spaces to fully private booths, and they can also be produced to a variety of finishes and include technology and sound proofing elements.
With all this in mind it does not come as a surprise that meeting booths are becoming increasingly popular in office spaces across a large spectrum of industries. The proliferation of the meeting booth is not just a fad as in fact they offer a number of benefits that significantly improve any office, some of this are:
Improved concentration
According to recent studies employees will focus on a certain task for a period of 11 minutes on average before being interrupted by distractions in their office surroundings and it will take them approximately 25 minutes to refocus. Meeting booths are great spaces to seek refugee from the constant distractions of the office floor, because they are self contained structure, workers can use the booths to work on projects requiring high degrees of concentration.
Increased privacy
Although open plan offices are promoters of collaboration and teamwork they are inadequate for private meetings, calls and activities. This is undoubtedly one of the pitfalls of the open plan design schemes, as a whopping 95% of employees complain about a need for private and silent rooms. Meeting booths provide enclosed, private spaces where to carry out that important meeting with a team, confidential one to ones, and/or telephone calls.
Supporting confidentiality
Similar to the lack of privacy discussed above, not having private rooms in the standard office place means important confidentiality processes may be at risk. One to one conversations and even phone calls in busy offices can potentially expose important client data, all of this can be prevented by using meeting booths, they can be fully enclosed and acoustically enhanced to make sure privacy and confidentiality are kept at the core.
Noise reduction
According to statistics, noise caused by even a single conversation can make employees’ work up to 66% less productive and a British Journal Psychology study states that background noise is indeed significantly harms workers’ productivity both reading or writing. Meeting booths commonly include some level of sound absorbing materials, helping keep noise at bay and allowing employees to work in a quiet and tranquil space.
Reduction of work-related stress
Not being able to concentrate is not only frustrating but it can also be deeply stressful as it impacts productivity, making the completion of tasks more challenging. Meeting booths provide a private oasis in the middle of busy and chaotic spaces where to work in peace, increasing productivity, overall job satisfaction and motivation. They can also provide a space where to seek refuge during difficult times and where to take a breath in solitude to recharge and refocus, thereby promoting overall wellbeing.
Adaptable and affordable
Undoubtedly it is imperative to provide workers with private, quiet rooms where to work or relax, however the cost of building room within a completed open plan space can be high and not cost effective at all. Because meeting pods are independent, self-enclosed and self-sufficient structures, they can easily be installed within pre-existing spaces, thus avoiding the high costs and logistics of standard building works. Many meeting booths are fully equipped with furniture, TV monitors, lights and ventilation systems so they can easily cover all meeting needs. Many of them are also mounted on castors allowing them to be fully mobile from one area in the office to the other. Meeting booths are also made to a variety of hard and/or upholstered finishes so that they can easily fit in with any interior design.
Office design is not just about looks or following trends, it needs to be fully functional and really benefit workers across a company and office meeting booths completely fit in within these parameters. Meeting booths are clever and adaptable solutions to provide affordable fully equipped private, quiet and aesthetically pleasing spaces where to meet and work as a team or in solitude.
