11/28/2018

The Best Spot in the Office Is a Phone Booth—If You Can Get Into One

Open-plan workplaces have spawned the privacy pod

Plush sofas and craft beer on tap are prized amenities at the shared New York space where Elizabeth Tobey works. Neither comes close to the office’s phoneless phone booths.

The sleek enclosures—almost always constructed of glass, with a seat and maybe a table—are popping up in workplaces with open-floor plans. To workers flanked by the constant banter of their colleagues’ business dealings and personal dramas, the booths represent their best hope for any semblance of privacy.

These sleek, soundproof enclosures have become a modern office must-have for many companies, serving as a sanctuary that allows workers to keep their “personal dramas” out of the earshot of colleagues. Conflicts have arisen when employees occupy the booth for “hours at a time,” not to make calls, but to simply seek solitude from noisy colleagues.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Wall Street Journal.