With companies like Room.com, and others joining the marketplace, office designers and managers have to weigh the pros and cons of adding soundproof phone booths to the office. Advertised as a way to improve speech privacy in an open office setting, the booths provide a secluded environment centrally located for employees to take quick phone calls or have sidebar meetings.
However, there are a number of other options to consider in open office settings. From sound masking to modular furniture, and other configurable conditions, office layouts may be optimized to improve spontaneous conversation, while also promoting speech privacy and comfort. Read below to understand the benefits and cost of soundproof booths in an open office vs. other soundproofing solutions.
About Soundproof Phone Booths
The cost of many of the soundproof phone booths ranges from $3000 to $15000. They may be installed in a manner of several hours or up to a day by two trained installers., and most are approximately 4’x4′ in floor footprint, or larger.
Several of the manufacturers include:
- ROOM: Soundproof Office Phone Booths
- PoppinPod: Soundproof Conference Rooms
- ZenBooth: Office Phone Booths
When traditional booths are not already designed and built into the space, these modular or portable booths may be a very economical option to provide some speech privacy. Furthermore, many of them have glass fronts or sides to allow for a more open feel while also reducing crosstalk.
Alternatives to Soundproof Phone Booths
Rather than dedicating the space and cost of installing a booth many firms opt to install sound masking into an open office location. While booths require compliance of employees to walk to the space, often having the client or co-worker waiting on the other line, the sound masking system provides a white noise background to the office space to provide speech privacy for everybody in the entire space.
Another alternative is to dedicate construction budget for building out more traditional conference rooms or phone booths. While less modular, the construction price may be less than the after-market booths, especially if completing several at the same time.
Ultimately, office management must determine the pros and cons of using a Sound Masking System versus traditional construction or modular soundproof phone booths. By employing any of these options, managers can improve the acoustic performance in their workplace and reduce office noise complaints.
