Boosting Workplace Productivity: The Influence of Acoustic Pods in the Workplace
Today, we’re shining a spotlight on the incredible influence of acoustic pods on workplace environments and how they can enhance the health, well-being, morale and productivity of employees. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the impact of these remarkable creations and discover how they contribute to creating a more efficient and thriving workspace.
Creating Focus: How Acoustic Pods Enhance Concentration:
In today’s fast-paced and open-plan offices, finding a quiet space to concentrate on important tasks can be a challenge. Acoustic pods provide a dedicated area that allows employees to escape from distractions and be more engaged in their work. With minimal interruptions and a peaceful environment, employees can focus better, leading to increased productivity and higher-quality output.
Acoustic pods enhance concentration by minimizing distractions, as their design effectively isolates sound within the pod, allowing for a focused and uninterrupted environment.
Acoustic pods serve as the perfect blend of quiet, protecting employees from distractions like talking coworkers, ringing phones, and office equipment noise. By providing a calm and quiet environment, these pods enable uninterrupted work, leading to increased focus, reduced stress, and a significant productivity boost in morale and productivity. Acoustic pods effectively eliminate noise pollution, creating a peaceful atmosphere in the office.
The Video Pod offers an ergonomically comfortable seat without disruption of noise in the office while doing ZOOM calls
Attract Employees to Come Back to the Office with Acoustic Booths:
If a company’s workforce worked at home part time and/or full time the past few years, they got used to a great deal of acoustic peach and quiet. Many employees report a jarring sense being back at work with shared spaces, with no dedicated office and no place to have a quiet phone call, or Teams meeting.
Picture this: you’re in the middle of an important phone call with a client when your coworker walks in and starts chatting with another colleague. The noise level in the open office space quickly becomes unbearable and you find yourself struggling to concentrate on the conversation at hand.
But what if you had the option to step into an acoustic pod – a small, soundproofed room designed for private phone calls, video conferencing, or focused work at that time, or before the call started?
Open Floor Plans Need Acoustic Sanctuaries for Employees to Work Within:
As many companies opt to not renew leases, and cut back their overall office presence, staff are having to transition to hybrid work schedules and shared desks within open floor plans. Although this saves the business a lot of money, it also diminishes quiet space to work for employees which has a bottom-line affect.
A compelling study of 1000 U.S employees found that 76% do not recommend open offices because (lack of privacy 43%), noise due to personal conversations (34%), poor concentration (29%), risk of sensitive data leakage (23%) and (21%) can not work to their full potential with noise. These are ALL problems that can be greatly improved with acoustic booths.
With the lack of quiet spaces, such as private offices and meeting rooms, workers must be creative when it comes to finding a space where they can work productively. An acoustic room offers a destination for them to work, a peaceful pod for uninterrupted work, and a quiet zone for deep focus.
Save $18,00 a Year Per Employee with Acoustic Room Solutions:
Studies have found that in open offices, real distractions on average happen every 11 minutes. Coming back into focus on the task takes 20-25minutes which is staggering. This creates an estimated annual financial loss of productivity of up to $18,000 per employee. So that means that a company who has only 850 employees could realize a productivity loss of over 15 million dollars from not having acoustic pods that employees can escape to.
An acoustic solution gives employees a place to go if they are distracted, or to prevent distraction.
For companies wanting employees to be at their best, acoustic pods offer a valuable resource that increases employee productivity and job satisfaction. By providing a noise canceling nook helps employees concentrate on their work. This in turn benefits employers from improved output and increased employee morale.
Communication Pods Encourage Employees to Talk to Their Customers Versus Sending Emails:
When it comes to communication between employees and clients, there’s nothing quite as effective as connecting in person, through a phone call, or by a video meeting. However, the reality of open office spaces can make it tricky to have phone or virtual conversations, as the constant noise and interruptions can be quite disruptive. As a result, studies have found that employees in open offices tend to rely more heavily on email than those in private offices or cubicles, where sound can be better controlled.
A Harvard Business article reported how a Face-to-Face Request is 34 times more successful than an email. However, if employees don’t have a quiet place to have phone conversations, then they will send more emails.
As a result, businesses that don’t offer ample privacy or facilities for confidential calls end up creating an email-heavy communication environment.
The issue with email:
Emails stretch out sales cycles, get misconstrued, and leave a long trail of messages. Additionally, misunderstandings happen frequently, with countless emails back and forth over the course of several days, while a quick phone call could have easily solved the problem. Experts, such as Worktalk, suggest that if important discussions, confidential information, clarity, or rapport building is needed, picking up the phone or setting up a ZOOM call is the better course of action.
- Giving employees an acoustic mobile meeting booth, or designated private space for conversations with clients, is an investment in fostering better business relationships.
Decrease Absenteeism and Sick Days By Providing Privacy Booths:
You might think it is a far stretch to state that providing acoustical room solutions can actually decrease sick days, but it can indirectly.
According to a study done of 2403 employees working in open-plan offices, 62% more likely to take sick leaves versus ones who work in a private office. Read more.
With the statistic above, the question remains- are employees in private offices reporting fewer sick days because they have more responsibility and are more challenged, or is it due to the privacy and quiet they have? The question is a good one.
According to many researchers, too much constant noise can literally make people sick when they have no relief with a “fight or flight” sensation that creates stress in the body. This stress can create a lowered immune system. So indirectly, too much noise, yes it can get us sick and create more sick days.
Provide Modular Huddle Rooms Pods for High Performing Employees to Problem Solve and Collaborate:
Post pandemic, many companies have eliminated private offices even for their executive leaders who are making important decisions. These leaders are having confidential conversations and problem solving all day long, which is difficult to do if they can’t concentrate with many distractions.
On average, employees lose 86 minutes each day at a workspace due to distractions around.
In a study done about high performance employees, pre-pandemic, 58% of HPEs reported to want more private spaces for problem solving without distraction. This study was done even before Covid when many of these executives had more privacy then they do now. Fast forward to post pandemic when there are many open offices with eliminated private offices, the numbers are much higher.
A recent study found that 93% of employees surveyed that it was difficult to conduct video calls. Interestingly, phone calls were not as difficult with only 51% of employees reporting difficulty with phone calls. Since video calls requires both the background and the surrounding noise to be quiet, this is why video pods are so popular.
Therefore, it is important to provide soundproof phone booths and collaboration spaces for your leadership team to think, process, be creative and solve problems.
The Power of Acoustic Pods in Preventing Hearing Loss:
One application for privacy pod solutions is areas that have noisy machinery where employees have to do other types of office work. This is common in laboratories and manufacturing facilities. Even some offices can have that level of noise with employees talking on the phone in nearby vicinities.
By 2050, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates more than 700 million people globally will experience profound hearing loss.
- In addition, an a recent study by Apple using health data from their Apple Watch and Iphone showed that 25% of participants experience daily environmental sound noise that is louder and more persistent that the WHO recommended limit.
- Use the Apple Watch noise app to test the noise in your environment. This can be caused from persistent loud noises in the office, or loud machinery noises.
- Author and Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide in Australia wrote the book, “Noise Control”- From Concept to Application. This book covers all aspect of noise and provides best practice in noise control for new and existing facilities.
This soundproof acoustic pod is ideal in manufacturing areas that are very loud. This boasts a 42STC rating. Pacific Ergonomics can help determine the correct acoustic booth for your needs as this level isn’t required for every application.
Transforming Office Pods into Dynamic Team Collaborative Spaces:
While acoustic privacy pods excel in providing solitude and focus, they can also foster collaboration when needed. Larger pods provide revolutionary spaces that can be transformed into dynamic team areas, perfect for brainstorming sessions and collaborative projects.
Acoustic rooms offer a designated space where teams can come together, exchange ideas, and work collectively. By seamlessly transitioning from individual workstations to collaborative hubs, these pods redefine collaboration in the modern office, ensuring a balance between concentration and teamwork.
There is no construction, as the HVAC and sprinkler can be easily integrated into the rooms. These rooms have motion sensor lights, air filtration and phone and data cable connections built in- so it is easy to set up anywhere.
ADA compliant acoustic rooms are ideal for collaboration.
Tailoring Acoustic Pods to Individual Work Preferences:
Every employee has unique work preferences and needs. Phone booths and modular meeting booths can be customized to accommodate individual requirements, offering a personalized and comfortable workspace. Whether employees require privacy for deep concentration or prefer an open environment for collaborative tasks, acoustic suites can be tailored to suit their preferences. This customization empowers employees to choose a workspace that aligns with their productivity style, promoting a sense of ownership and satisfaction.
These privacy rooms can be used for specialized purposes like private Mothers room pods, or an area where employees take hearing tests.
Other specialized usages include:
-Mediation room
-Wellness room
-Conference room on casters
-Game room
-Library or study
-Recording studio
-Place in a clean room to do computer work without having to de-gown
-A virtual reality space
-Confidential boardroom
-Rest and recovery for night workers
-Interview room
-Private therapy room for mental health consultations
Are Acoustic Rooms Needed in Every Office?
Does every office need acoustic pods and meeting spaces? My opinion is no, however, a rising number of workplace environments post pandemic would benefit greatly from them. This totally depends on a few factors such as:
-How loud is the office?
-Do you have an open floor plan or many private offices?
-Are employees on the phone all day next to each other, or is it more research oriented?
-How full are your conference rooms and huddle rooms?
-Are employees complaining that they don’t have a good place to do Zoom calls with concentration?
-Do employees share desks and complain of noise?
-Can clients on the other end of phone calls hear the noise?
-Do employees have a place to make private and confidential calls?
-Are you looking for ways to attract employees to come back to the office?
-Were your employees used to working at home in quiet and now the office seems louder?
-Is the business leasing and doesn’t want to invest in construction costs?
Creating a productive work culture starts with providing an environment that supports employee well-being and productivity of the company’s needs. If you answered yes to the above questions, incorporating acoustic privacy booths, phone booths and video huddle pods into the office design will derive a lot of value. Acoustic suite solutions communicate the message that employee focus, collaboration, and satisfaction are valued. This investment in their comfort and productivity cultivates a productivity-driven culture, attracting top talent and contributing to long-term success.
Overall, acoustic meeting nooks revolutionize the way we work by creating focused and efficient office environments. By enhancing concentration, eliminating noise pollution, promoting collaboration, and offering customized comfort, these pods become an essential tool in boosting workplace productivity. Incorporating acoustic pods into your office design creates a haven of focus, encourages collaboration, and nurtures a positive work culture. Embrace the power of acoustic pods and witness the transformative impact on your workplace productivity.
Call Pacific Ergonomics a certified solution provider for the leading acoustic solutions in the industry with a showroom in San Diego California. We ship all over the U.S. , provide virtual consultation nationwide and can help find the right solution for your needs. Call 619-546-0872
