{"id":29380,"date":"2025-10-31T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/?p=29380"},"modified":"2025-10-31T10:43:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T10:43:02","slug":"why-telephone-booths-are-important-in-open-plan-offices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/why-telephone-booths-are-important-in-open-plan-offices\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are telephone booths important in open-plan offices?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Telephone booths are essential support facilities in open-plan offices, enabling private calls and focused work without disturbing others. They provide a soundproof space where employees can have confidential conversations or retreat to a quiet space. In an open-plan office environment, telephone booths solve the challenge of privacy and concentration when using an eight-person meeting room for a single phone call is not an efficient use of space.<\/p>\n<h2>What is the purpose of a telephone booth in an open-plan office environment?<\/h2>\n<p>The telephone booth offers <strong>soundproofed private room<\/strong> for phone calls and tasks requiring concentration in an open-plan office. Its primary purpose is to enable undisturbed conversations without the employee disturbing their colleagues or having to make private calls in front of others. The phone booth creates a clear boundary between collaborative areas and personal workspaces.<\/p>\n<p>The increasing popularity of open-plan offices has brought with it a challenge: these spaces facilitate collaboration, but do not offer any private areas for various tasks. When an employee needs a place to answer a phone call without disturbing their colleagues or to make a personal call without others hearing, a phone booth is the solution. It provides both visual and acoustic protection.<\/p>\n<p>Digitalisation has permanently changed the way we work. An increasing number of meetings are moving online, creating a need for spaces where these remote meetings can be held without disturbing others. Phone booths meet this need by providing a compact, easily accessible space for spontaneous phone calls and video conferences.<\/p>\n<h2>How do phone booths improve employee concentration and productivity?<\/h2>\n<p>Telephone booths improve concentration by eliminating noise distractions and creating <strong>sense of psychological security<\/strong>. When employees have the opportunity to retreat to their own space, they can concentrate on their work without worrying that someone is reading their screen or listening to their conversation. This privacy and sense of security are key factors in the quality of work.<\/p>\n<p>It is easy to lose concentration in an open-plan office. When someone stands behind you reading an email you have just written, or you can hear someone answering a private phone call in the next cubicle, your work is disrupted. A telephone booth provides visual protection and sound insulation, enabling deep concentration on demanding tasks.<\/p>\n<p>Having your own quiet space also affects your ability to manage your emotions, make sensible decisions and use your working memory effectively. The design choices made in the working environment affect not only health and safety, but also organisational skills and decision-making. Telephone booths create a clear boundary between collaboration and individual work, which supports different working methods and styles.<\/p>\n<h2>What is the difference between a telephone booth and a regular meeting room?<\/h2>\n<p>The phone booth is <strong>compact single-person space<\/strong> for quick calls and short work sessions, while the meeting room is a larger space for several people for longer use. The phone booth is designed for spontaneous use without a booking system, while meeting rooms are booked in advance for a specific time. The phone booth is an easily accessible retreat, while the meeting room is a place for planned collaboration.<\/p>\n<p>From a space utilisation perspective, a telephone booth is a more efficient solution for individual calls. Using an eight-person meeting room as a personal telephone booth may be creative, but it is not the most efficient use of space. Telephone booths are designed specifically for private calls and moments that require concentration.<\/p>\n<p>Phone booths complement meeting rooms rather than replace them. A functional multi-space office needs both: phone booths for spontaneous needs and meeting rooms of various sizes for planned meetings and teamwork. Together, they form a versatile selection of support spaces that serve a variety of work tasks.<\/p>\n<h2>What features should a good telephone booth have?<\/h2>\n<p>A good telephone booth has <strong>effective sound insulation<\/strong>, effective ventilation, adequate lighting and an ergonomic workstation. Sound insulation is the most important feature: when choosing a telephone booth, it is worth checking the speech transmission index (STI), which indicates how well speech can be understood outside the booth. A low STI value means that private conversations can be held in the booth without concern.<\/p>\n<p>Ventilation is essential for prolonged use. A telephone booth is a small, enclosed space where air quality deteriorates quickly without a proper ventilation system. Good lighting supports smooth working and reduces eye strain, especially during video conferences.<\/p>\n<p>Technical equipment includes sockets and USB ports, which enable devices to be charged and used. An ergonomic seat and desk make the space comfortable even for longer periods of work. Aesthetics are also important: the telephone booth is part of the overall look of the office and should fit naturally into the space.<\/p>\n<p>Modularity is a practical feature. Telephone booths that can be installed without modifying existing structures and can be dismantled and reassembled as needed offer flexibility as the office changes. This makes the investment more durable and adaptable to the needs of the organisation.<\/p>\n<h2>How many telephone booths does an open-plan office need?<\/h2>\n<p>The number of telephone booths depends on <strong>the number of employees, working methods and space requirements<\/strong>. As a general guideline, every office should have enough private rooms so that employees do not have to queue for private space. Too few rooms cause frustration, while too many rooms lead to underutilisation.<\/p>\n<p>The design of the usage is based on the needs of the organisation. Before purchasing telephone booths, it is worth considering their purpose and users. What kind of tasks do employees perform? How often do they need private space for phone calls or concentration? Is the work mainly collaborative or independent?<\/p>\n<p>The basic idea behind a multi-space office is that employees can choose their own workspace depending on the task at hand. This requires a sufficient number of different types of spaces: an open workspace for teamwork, a quiet space for concentration, and telephone booths and meeting and conference rooms of various sizes as support facilities. A balance between these creates a functional working environment.<\/p>\n<p>Monitoring usage helps to optimise the number. If the phone booths are constantly occupied, more are needed. If they stand empty, the investment has been too large. Starting with a smaller number and adding more as needed is often the most sensible approach.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Phone booths solve the biggest challenge of open-plan offices: lack of privacy and concentration. They provide a soundproof space for private calls and tasks that require concentration without disturbing colleagues. Find out why phone booths improve productivity, how they differ from meeting rooms, and what features a good phone booth should have. Also, learn how many phone booths your office really needs to achieve optimal space utilisation.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":29474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_improvement_type_select":"improve_an_existing","_thumb_yes_seoaic":false,"_frame_yes_seoaic":false,"seoaic_generate_description":"","seoaic_improve_instructions_prompt":"","seoaic_rollback_content_improvement":"","seoaic_idea_thumbnail_generator":"","thumbnail_generated":false,"thumbnail_generate_prompt":"","seoaic_article_description":"","seoaic_article_subtitles":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29407,"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29380\/revisions\/29407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intoconcept.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}