Imagine that you are working in the office trying to make a deadline. But your coworker starts on-line meeting with his computer next to your desk. His voice is loud for the mic to catch it. “Dumb it! He is so noisy!”. You must be irritated with this situation. Noise causes stress.
Luckily, to mediate such stress, the phone booth for office spaces was developed (Just in case you do not know, this is not a red phone booth on streets from the last century). We had a chance to take a look at such a phone booth. As shown in the attached photo, the box for one person is vertically long with a retractable table so that you can put your laptop. A small stool can be installed. Its’ noise barrier performance is excellent. I tried to shout in the booth. My voice was almost blocked so people outside the booth did not hear it.
Today, IT has developed and everyone uses on-line meetings everywhere. Like skype, online meeting application is very convenient and makes remote communication easier than a conference call. Your monitor shows not only the person whom you talk with but also meeting material like charts. But, be careful. Your online meeting might cause your coworkers’ stress.
The two different goals need to be met in today’s office space – business performance and people’s well-being. Obviously on-line meetings are the result of pursuing performance. Ironically, people have become aware of the importance of quietness in the office for their concentration thanks to on-line meetings.