Happiness is the reason why Framery exists and is at the heart of everything we do. Our silent pods, phone booths and private spaces transform office behavior. This enables people to be more efficient and happier. Let’s dig deeper behind our thinking!
Offices of today are becoming more modern and activity-based. These take into consideration the variety of work activity needs that users have. They range from focusing on working alone and together, a diversity of collaboration and recharging. This distinction for different zones at the workspace has its background in science.
Studies have shown that there are indeed two psychological needs that explain satisfaction within most offices. A need for interacting with others and a need for privacy. A well- functioning office will have a steady balance of concentration spaces and collaboration spaces.
Few people are able to collaborate eight hours a day. Uninterrupted time is also required in order to get things done and recover from the socializing and noise around them at the office. When it comes to work stress and productivity, quiet work spaces are vital.
Research confirms that personal productivity drops when there are distractions at the office. You can compliment open plan offices with many, easily accessible quiet workspaces. Like Framery pods. This is about answering the needs for privacy and concentration.
A study focusing on high and low satisfaction rates in activity-based offices found that offering enclosed spaces for focused work proved helpful. Another research group validates this finding. They found that the need for privacy strongly predicts the level of satisfaction among the workforce in activity-based offices. They state the following:
To enhance satisfaction with activity-based working environments in practice, it seems of utmost importance to increase experienced levels of privacy. Activity settings for concentration work deserve special attention. These should be sufficiently available and tailored to specific person-related and job-related needs.
In addition to concentration spaces, there is also a clear need for collaboration spaces. These are spaces like informal areas, functional meeting rooms and inspiring open work areas, all of which answer our human need of belonging.
Let’s sum things up. Knowledge workers need work spaces that stimulate openness and collaboration, in addition to enclosed settings to focus on tasks. In other words, workers need places for collaboration and concentration. When we strive for happiness and efficiency at work, we should focus on both.
An ideal and practical solution is to provide the tools and places where people can concentrate and work more efficiently. Like we do at Framery. Pods help in creating different kinds of workspaces and zones at the office, based on the activity needs. With these tools, people’s ability to focus will improve and the number of distractions in the office reduce. It’s easier and more pleasurable to work.
To improve acoustic conditions in offices, and especially in open areas, you can use phone booths and small acoustic spaces. Framery meeting pods and phone booths absorb and block noise. However, their main function is to decrease the conversational noise. When employees use Framery pods for making calls or video conferences, they have privacy for themselves and prevent disturbing their colleagues. Our larger meeting pods are a good place for confidential meetings, brainstorming sessions and important one-on-one discussions without disturbing the whole office – or the office being a disruption.
Acoustic pod placement within offices is also a social cue. Placing pods close to people will act as a social cue. They will welcome ad-hoc meetings and endorse making phone calls from inside. It encourages people to meet spontaneously and make the most of these meetings. Sudden, unexpected discussions are highly efficient as we generally take time only as long as needed in these situations.
According to a Finland-based study, 78% of meetings today are between four people or less. The same study also shows interesting insights about space usage. Its findings are that just one person uses large meeting rooms with a capacity of 9-15, 21% of the time. They summarize their findings:
There is a mismatch between the sizes of meeting spaces, and the sizes of groups that use them.
Small meetings are simple to arrange with Framery pods. You can focus on the quality of small meetings. It provides comfortable and convenient spaces that you can correctly position – close to people. You can improve meeting quality by focusing on the substance of the meeting, agreeing not to use phones and keeping the meeting time short. When there is a small gathering, Framery pods help people to be naturally more present and active as well.
Framery – Serious About Happiness.
Sources:
Chadburn, A., Smith, J., & Milan, J. (2017). Productivity drivers of knowledge workers in the central London office environment. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 19(2), 66-79.
Hoendervanger JG, Ernst AF, Albers CJ, Mobach MP, Van Yperen NW (2018) Individual differences in satisfaction with activity-based work environments. PLoS ONE 13(3): e0193878.
Haapakangas, A., Hongisto, V., Varjo, J., & Lahtinen, M. (2018). Benefits of quiet workspaces in open-plan offices–Evidence from two office relocations. Journal of
Environmental Psychology, 56, 63-75.
Brunia, S., De Been, I., & van der Voordt, T. J. (2016). Accommodating new ways of working: lessons from best practices and worst cases. Journal of corporate real estate, 18(1), 30-47.
Rapal (2018). Workplace Review. Global Workplace Insights 2018. Available:https://www.rapal.com/optimaze-workplace-review
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