Working in an open office plan, the most common problem faced by employees is noise at work from coworkers.

Employees might choose to use noise-canceling headphones, simply wait for a meeting room to become available or just leave the office completely so as not to disturb others or be disturbed.

Unlike traditional solutions, which require meticulous planning and installation, our soundproof solutions offer a one stop shop for businesses to solve workplace disruption and boost productivity.

At a fraction of the cost of traditional construction, our prefab solutions create additional space for focused work and collaboration without constant noise, debris and distraction.

The modular pod solutions come in 3 different sizes that do not involve any construction. Assembly of our soundproof booths can be completed within hours and will not cause any disturbance to the workplace. Given it can be just as easily disassembled, the pods are perfect for short term rented spaces and co-working areas.

A major problem with an open office plan is noise, hence the need for modern offices to adequately soundproof these spaces.

To soundproof an office these 4 steps are essential to effectively reduce noise and therefore distractions:

Acoustic wall panels
Add Sound absorbing materials placed around a room to reduce inbound noise, making acoustic wall panels a great solution for combatting noise in an open plan offices.

Install soundproof booths/pods
Soundproof booths/pods are a modular private spaces where employees can work, brainstorm, and fully concentrate in away from their desk. Think of it as a private working area, free from any distractions. They’re easy to set up, move around and can accommodate all types of budgets.

Rearrange office layout
Noise problem can be managed with just a simple office rearrangement. For example, by placing desks in a cluster per department, you can help compartmentalise noise around the entire office.

Introduce plants your office
Not only do plants look great, boost the well-being of employees, and improve air quality, but help to reduce noise within a space too.

Place acoustic wall partitions/desk divider
Similar to wall panels, acoustic dividers/partitions are a proven and tested solutions for blocking out minor noise.

Any degree of soundproofing a room involves a significant degree of cost, planning, construction permits and disruption to the workplace.

Upon deciding that this is the best route forward for your room the key elements that go into making a room soundproof are as follows. Adding acoustic foam and acoustic panels on walls, hanging blankets over sound entry points, and positioning furniture and rugs to help absorb sounds.

Alternatively, a fast and affordable way to have a soundproof room in the workplace is by adding prefab booths and pods specifically designed to offer a fully soundproof space for meetings and focused work.

In a survey of over 1000 employees across a range of industries, the number one cause of distractions in a workplace were talkative co-workers (cited by 80% of workers surveyed), and office noise (70%).

Once distracted, it takes an average of 23 minutes to regain focus. So, with 80% of workers saying they were distracted by noise, imagine the loss in team productivity in terms of time and money caused by noise on a daily basis.

The addition of soundproof booths are the most cost effective and easy way to integrate essential and flexible quiet spaces into any workplace, creating an environment that optimises employee productivity by removing these distractions from the open space.

According to an anonymous survey conducted by William Belk. 58% of high-performance employees needed more private spaces for problem-solving and 54% of high-performance employees found their office environment too distracting.

We realise that in a traditional office space the issue of workplace distraction is a constant problem. In the past, office planners tackled this problem by building expensive meeting rooms, adding portable office partitions and desk dividers. However, these methods have their limitations because whilst they are effective at blocking visual distractions they fail at reducing noise.

Nowadays, business owners and office planners can choose cost effective prefab office pod solutions for employees who want to jump in and out of calls without having to wait for an empty meeting room or distract others in the open workplace.

When focusing on productivity, the number one factor would be location and surroundings. Ways to make an office space more productive include good lighting, decluttering work areas, comfortable furniture, a clean workspace and ambient room temperatures.

However, it’s important to note that even if your office is perfectly laid out, you may not have solved the number one killer of productivity in the office - noise.

Employees often have to isolate themselves from distractions and pick the quietest/best spot in the office to be productive. Dr Vinesh Oommen with the Queensland University of Technology has looked directly at the impact open-plan offices have on a worker’s health and wellbeing.

Ooomen’s extensive research has demonstrated that the open-plan office is associated with loss of privacy, loss of identity, low work productivity, and various health issues (such as high blood pressure, which is the leading cause of stroke and heart disease), overstimulation and low job satisfaction. All mental health killers! Consider adding a range of soundproof meeting pod and booths to solve this and you will be well on your way to having the most productive space you can imagine for your teams to work from.

There are 4 best practices when it comes to office planning:
1. Keep a minimum of 1-metre distance behind each desk to allow for employees to roll back and stand up.
2. Corridors should be at least 1 metre wide.
3. Corridors with seating arrangements backing onto them must be 1.2 metres wide so as to provide ample space to move between workstations.
4. Boardroom tables must have a minimum of 1.5 metres distance from entrances to the room.

In addition to that, to make your small office space look bigger, consider placing desks and sitting areas diagonally and use vertical storage to minimise space consumption. Recess can help businesses plan their layouts in order to maximise their space. Whether you are upsizing or downsizing we offer a modular soundproof booth and furniture solutions that intend to improve office space efficiency.

As this table shows, soundproof office pods and meeting booths can vary in cost and often providers will charge extra for features, delivery and assembly. So, it's important to consider all the costs that would go into purchasing a pod before choosing who to go with. Its also important to note that the materials used by all the major soundproof booth providers are comparable in quality so differences in price will reflect how much margin a brand wants to take from you and whether or not a brand needs to pay distributors and resellers along the value chain.

By cutting out the middleman and selling direct, Recess is able to pass on savings of up to 50%, offering our soundproof booths at affordable price points.