On Monday, the bean-to-cup coffee grinder behind your desk is sweet-sweet music to your ears. Mildly hungover colleagues close one eye and aim jittery fingers at that start button every four minutes. But your focus is just fine.
By Wednesday, things are different. Dick from sales is whispering the quarterly projections to your Head of Marketing on the other side of the office. How dare they! Don’t they know whispers travel further than regular speech? AAARGH.
Yup. We mere humans have very different needs from one day to the next. Open-plan offices don’t exactly respect your individuality. Yes, scattering us on a factory floor seemed like a great idea to bring everyone together for collaboration. But it has the opposite effect, according to a study by the Royal Society.
Don’t get me wrong. I love open-plan offices. There’s an abundance of space to stare into when I’m thinking. And it makes me feel like I’m part of a broader community of like-minded people who are all desperately trying to ignore each other.
At its core, open-plan offices fit more people and save loads of space. They’re not going anywhere—it’s a money thing. But how do you make distracting open-plan offices more productive? The key is flexible office spaces.
Enter office pods and phone booths from stage left. These can transform your office overnight—reducing noise, creating focus spaces and private areas, and best of all, they don’t require permanent construction.
In this guide, we take an in-depth look at this useful addition to the workplace, and why you might want to add a phone booth or meeting pod to your office.
What is an Office Phone Booth?
An Office Phone Booth is a compact, single-user acoustic cabin that provides a quiet escape for phone or video calls. They usually have a shelf for laptops or notebooks, and space for a perch or barstool.
Unlike the Tardis, they’re intended for quick calls and don’t provide all the creature comforts. Some include power sockets or charging ports. High-end versions add air-conditioning, sensor-activated lighting, ventilation, and germ-killing UV lights.
Some phone booths have castors so they can be moved around your open-plan office. Like the Tardis, you never know where it’ll be next—but chances are, near my desk.
Five Reasons You Need an Office Phone Booth
1. Office Noise
It’s difficult to focus on a call in a noisy office, and just as hard for the person on the other end. If you’re talking loudly on the phone in an open-plan office, you’re part of the noise problem. A booth fixes that.
2. Private Conversations
Private matters should stay private. Salary negotiations, HR discussions—or that awkward doctor’s call—belong in a booth, not at the water-cooler.
3. Movable Convenience
Need quiet spaces in a workshop or brainstorming session? Wheel a couple of phone booths to the conference room and you’ve got instant privacy.
4. Free Up Meeting Rooms
How many times has a meeting room been booked for a one-person call? Phone booths free up your larger spaces for actual meetings.
5. Farts
Yes, really. That three-bean curry from Curry Boss was delicious, but now you’re trapped among judgmental colleagues. A soundproof phone booth with good air treatment solves the problem. Just don’t pass out pretending to call your mum.
What Do You Call These Room-in-Room Things Anyway?
“Soundproof telephone box”? “Free-standing phone pod”? They go by many names, which shows how popular they’ve become. At Furnify, we prefer clarity, so here’s a handy naming chart:
Phone Booth Lite
The semi-enclosed “lite” version has three acoustic walls, often upholstered for sound absorption. They block distractions while remaining open on one side. They’re cheaper than full pods because they skip extras like power or ventilation.
Wall-mounted acoustic phone hoods are another variation. They fix to a wall, great for corridors or reception areas, and include a shelf and pen holder for quick note-taking.
What is an Office Pod?
An “Office Pod” is a freestanding, sound-insulated room within an open-plan office that provides private, quiet space to work, take calls, or hold small meetings. Sizes range from single-user phone booths to larger meeting pods.
Single-user versions are called work pods or focus booths. They include a desk, chair, power, and connectivity for longer sessions.
Meeting pods accommodate two or more people and can include whiteboards, screens, and video-conferencing tech. Pair them with Seryph Meeting Chairs for added comfort.
Lounge pods, the fun cousins, bring people together informally. They feature sound suppression, good ventilation, and designer flair—perfect for creative collaboration.
4 Reasons You Need Office Pods
1. Quiet and Privacy
Pods keep noise out, noise in, and conversations private. They’re ideal for focused work, brainstorming sessions, and confidential discussions like reviews or health-related talks.
2. Quick and Cheap to Relocate
Pods are freestanding—no construction needed. Some even have built-in castors. Move them wherever needed, disassemble when you move offices, and reassemble elsewhere.
3. No Construction, Just Assembly
Forget permits, dust, and downtime. Pods assemble in hours instead of days and can be repositioned anytime without damage or paint fumes.
4. No Dilapidation Costs
Pods don’t alter the building, so you won’t face lease-end restoration bills. Just pack them up and take them along.
Office Pod vs Office Phone Booth
Phone booths are for short, private calls. Office pods are larger, for working or meeting. Essentially, anything bigger than a booth qualifies as a pod—ranging from focus pods to full boardrooms.
What is a Modular Office Pod?
Modular pods are made of interchangeable prefabricated units. You can expand or reconfigure them as your needs grow. For example, the Cell Pod V2 Meeting Pod System uses extruded aluminium frames and demountable panels—you can turn a single-user pod into a 10-seater room by adding modules.
Things to Consider When Choosing a Phone Booth or Office Pod
When shopping for your perfect booth, keep these six points in mind:
1. Acoustics
Look for: an acoustic rating above 28dB.
The goal is quiet privacy. For elite sound isolation, StudioBricks leads with ratings around 45dB—perfect if you record audio or host webinars. For general office use, aim for at least 32dB to keep conversations private.
2. Ventilation
Look for: integrated air-conditioning or similar.
Small spaces heat up quickly. Quality ventilation keeps air fresh and temperatures even. Systems like those in Cell Pods circulate air efficiently, while models like the Silent Room S and Air3 Work Pod manage airflow through advanced designs.
3. Lighting
Look for: adjustable LED lighting and PIR sensors.
Dimmable lights reduce glare during presentations, and motion sensors save energy by turning lights and fans off automatically when unoccupied.
4. Useful Features
Look for: multimedia tools and connectivity that suit your needs.
Power sockets, USB ports, whiteboards, HDMI and LAN connections, and integrated video tools make pods practical and future-ready. Some even include built-in booking systems.
5. Versatility
Look for: customisation that fits your brand.
Choose finishes that reflect your company’s identity—change upholstery, colours, or add branded graphics. Modular pods can be reused for recruitment, interviews, or events.
6. Safety
Look for: adherence to fire-safety and building standards.
DIY builds might sound tempting, but safety glass, fire-retardant upholstery, and compliant materials are non-negotiable. Choose certified pods and let Uncle George go fishing instead.
There’s a movie in there somewhere—but the takeaway is simple: choose life, choose compliance, and choose a proper office pod.