So-called “white-collar jobs” often take place in an office building, ranging from a city hall to a skyscraper to some company’s corporate headquarters. While these work spaces provide everything that an employee needs, such as a desk and computer, a phone, copier machines, and a break room, there are some minor hazards to watch out for, too. Workplace distractions are very much a reality, and sometimes, distractions such as loud conversations, laughter, sneezing or coughing, or noisy traffic outside the window can wear down on an employee’s patience, eroding their concentration and peace of mind alike. Sometimes, it may feel like a worker cannot get any peace and quiet at the workplace, and this can be a real problem when the worker is on the phone with customers and the conversation is drowned out by nearby sounds. But there are solutions to this issue: working remotely, and installing an office phone booth. Working from home is gaining in popularity and convenience, and an office phone booth can be very helpful for those who are still at the office. Phone booth office space offers the peace and quiet that an employee needs.
A Soundproof Phone Booth
Why might an employee ask his or her manager to build a phone booth in the workplace? As mentioned above, noise is often an issue when there are many busy workers in the same space, and this can be highly distracting and lower a worker’s performance during the work day. But private phone booths for office use can be a solution, and an office phone booth may be requested when a manager contacts local contractors. Phone booth office design is fairly simple: it is an upright box with soundproof walls, and inside, there will be a telephone, as the name suggests, that the occupant may use to speak directly to customers or business partners without dealing with outside noises. Such a booth will probably also have surfaces where the occupant can place a laptop, papers, binders, or other work materials during their time in the office phone booth.
Can an office phone booth really deliver the results needed? Studies have been done to find out just how effective an office phone booth can be, and the results are promising. A soundproof phone booth is capable of eliminating around 51% of conversational distractions in the workplace, and this can be a boon for the worker inside in many regards. Worker concentration may be boosted by as much as 48% when work and phone conversations are being done in such a booth, and this improved level of concentration can have other benefits, too. Employees report making 10% fewer work errors while working in a quiet environment such as this, and the reduced noise levels can also have a positive impact on their stress levels. It can frazzle the nerves to try and work or talk on the phone in the middle of a swamp of noise, but stress levels can be lowered as much as 27% when a worker is placing or receiving important phone calls in a phone booth like this.
The person on the other end of the line will appreciate this, too. If the employee is in the middle of a noisy environment, it can become difficult for the two people on the phone line to hear each other, and this hampers communications. Business partners will probably develop a negative impression of the worker or their employer after a few bad phone calls, and customers may lose their patience entirely and give up on the company, and this can be costly for the company to deal with. If the manager realizes that a lot of customers are being lost due to poor phone conversation quality, he or she may realize that the time has come to order some soundproof office booths. The money saved from not losing those customers may help offset the price of those booths.
Even hotels need soundproof tech. Many hotel guests complain about noise levels during their stay, so soundproof paint on the walls can help with this. Hotel customer reviews tend to be more positive when there is less sound, especially during the night.
