Amidst the global privacy crisis, privacy booths offer a secure and cost-effective solution towards preventing data and information leakages.
Marion Brando once declared that ‘privacy is not something that I’m merely entitled to; it is an absolute prerequisite’. While this might be true, this is an ideal that is growing increasingly difficult to safeguard in today’s day and age. Privacy is no longer a given ‘pre-requisite’ for workplaces, but must be fought for through the creation of a secure and private environment that meets the needs of its users.
Nonetheless, while privacy is generally seen in a positive light, what exactly is the value of privacy? Does privacy matter at all in today’s globalised world?
As a matter of fact, as research has shown, privacy matters a great deal.
Privacy is pivotal towards creating an effective and healthy workplace environment. Studies have highlighted that individuals who work in a purely open-plan office with minimal privacy actually exhibit decreased physical and emotional health, as well as subpar work performances. This is in part due to the more frequent cases of illnesses and employee absences, contributing to reduced workplace productivity. The lack of privacy in workplaces actually further impacts workplace efficiency as noise and other distractions will disrupt concentration on certain tasks that demand high focus.
Moreover, beyond crafting an effective and healthy workplace environment, the lack of privacy in a workplace environment has the potential to disrupt business operations and negatively impact corporate relations with external partners or vendors. After all, confidentiality is key towards securing the trust of external partners or vendors; if companies fall prey to information leakages, this would necessarily compromise the data integrity of its partners as well. Therefore, an adequate amount of privacy integrated within workplace environments is crucial towards winning the trust of desired business partners or vendors.
This then begs the question: how do we protect and enhance workplace privacy? To this end, privacy booths and office desk pods are versatile and cost-effective components that can be easily integrated within office design.
For one, privacy phone booths and privacy booths alike guard against the dangers of visual hacking. Visual hacking is the act of physically spying on someone’s desk or monitor screens. Whilst this is a less technologically advanced form of hacking, it carries significant risks for business, small and large.
According to the 2016 Global Visual Hacking Experiment, which was conducted in the U.S. by Ponemon Institute and sponsored by 3M Company, sensitive information was successfully captured in 91 per cent of visual hacking attempts globally. This experiment included trials in China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Its insights demonstrated the pressing need for organisations to deploy more effective measures towards protecting data displayed openly on the monitor screens of its employees.
Here, privacy booths and privacy phone booths provide a physical safeguard against the prying eyes of visual hackers. By offering a secure and contained environment, employees are able to manage and interact with sensitive and confidential information with greater ease and security.
In fact, this applies to data and information shared beyond the monitor screen as well. In open-plan offices, it is difficult to ensure that sensitive and confidential information are contained within a select group of people. Corporations and businesses might consider building soundproof rooms, but this is an extremely costly commitment. How then should we make a room soundproof?
To make a room soundproof, companies can choose to incorporate acoustic pods in the office design. These modern phone booths are soundproof, cost-effective, and versatile components of offices. It allows its users to take calls and host meetings in a secure environment. Its versatility means that offices can choose to include acoustic pods for offices for both solo and group usage, rendering it ideal for both virtual and in-person meetings. This enhances collaborative work, which, according to a 2021 McKinsey survey, is one of the key priorities of employees.
Acoustic pods and privacy booths also cater to the diverse needs of its employees, boosting employee well-being. It accommodates cognitive diversity by providing a different working environment for employees who require a quieter and more secure environment to work in.
Lastly, office desk pods offer an oasis of calm and tranquility that not only alleviate the stress levels of its employees, but also heighten focus and concentration for the better. According to a Queensland University of Technology study, 90% of employees working in offices with an open floor plan experience exhibited increased stress levels, blood pressure, and turnover rates. Contrast this to the sense of security provided by office desk pods and acoustic pods. By making rooms soundproof through the use of acoustic pods and modern phone booths, the user is able to control the element of background noise, which then minimises the level of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. This also has the effect of boosting focus and therefore, productivity. Studies have found that excessive noise reduces performance accuracy and working memory performance, and 99% of employees surveyed reported that their concentration was impaired by various types of office noise.
Privacy booths are a versatile, cost-effective, and highly functional piece of office equipment that should be incorporated into any modern office design. It launches an iron-clad defense against the dangers of information leakages and visual hacking, whilst also contributing towards building the optimal modern office environment in the post-pandemic era for its users.
Privacy is essential to all offices for the effective functioning of its users, to not only be able to work adequately, but to also thrive in a secure and safe environment; and privacy booths will play a focal role towards achieving that ideal vision.
Check out InstaPod’s huge range of pods, and contact us here if you have any curiosities or concerns. We will do our best to accommodate your needs!
