Are office pods a good investment?
Office Pods are becoming more popular because while it is true that most corporate environments favour open plan designs, it is also true that this kind of designs pose a big problem when it comes to privacy and silence. Open plan offices have a focus on collaboration, where all workers sit together in a single room and this usually creates noisy environments, especially when making telephone calls or video calls. All these noise and distractions can have a terrible effect on employees’ concentration, performance and overall well being.
Office Booths and Pods have increasingly become an easy solution to this issue, they are essentially small rooms within other rooms that are either fully or partially enclosed and offer private places where to make phone or video calls, or simply where to work in silence. Though office booths and pods have grown in popularity in recent years, many office managers and designers still question whether they are worth the price and if it is really worth investing in them.
How expensive are office pods?
It is important to establish that there is a wide variety of pods available, for many different purposes, in various shapes, colours, finishes and of course, also prices. In a nutshell, office meeting and phone booths are mainly categorised by size and purpose, for example, you can have single occupancy phone booths and work pods which are designed for individual use, be it phone or zoom calls. There are also larger pods, specially designed for team meetings, these are available in various sizes from small 2 person booths, to fully sized pods for 10 or more people. There are also a number of bespoke options which allow you to create your perfect sized pod.
Price will inevitably vary from one category and from one size to the other, as well as based on the number of equipment included as a standard and the accessories that are added as an extra. Other options such as semi open or fully open pods are a more economical alternative, you can choose from study booths, as well as acoustic sofas and/or acoustic chairs. Prices will also vary according to the finishes available, ranging from basic melamine and/or fabric options which can be upgraded to the highest spec in order to create a luxurious look for even the most sophisticated offices.
Why are office pods a smart decision?
My Office Pods have established that there’s a wide variety of pods available, but are they even worth spending your budget on one of these units? The answer is yes, and this is for a number of reasons which we will explore below:
- Pods (for any purpose and in any size) are simple, you can order a pod and get it installed within weeks, unlike the common alternative of having to get a building permit and go through the long and costly process of erecting new private offices and meeting rooms within a pre-existing space.
- Pods come fully equipped with everything you would expect from a first-class office, such as ventilation and light systems, power and data connections, and many come fitted with furniture, making it a ready to use unit. Once installed, you can plug it in and it is ready to go! This makes them extremely practical and efficient against building your own office, which on top of construction work would require the work of electricians, air conditioning fitting, etc. Thus ordering a pod will save time and also labour costs.
- Unlike traditional built-in offices that need to be heavily planned and approved, pods are highly flexible structures and they can adapt to the space available. They come flat packed so that they can fit into most spaces and, because they are free-standing units, you can place them pretty much anywhere. This will again, save time and therefore money.
- Also different from built-in spaces, pods are mobile units. They can be dismantled, moved around and assembled again, so that users can take their pods with them whenever they go, a clear advantage in today’s business world where growing staff numbers and the ever increasing costs of office space leasing force companies to be constantly on the move. Modular office booths are therefore a great long-term investment, you would only purchase a pod once, taking it with you wherever you go.
So, are office pods worth the investment?
In conclusion, though office pods might come across as expensive, when you look into the number of advantages they offer over traditional built-in offices, in terms of practicality, ease and ultimately cost, it makes absolute sense to deem office pods as well as work from home office pods a good investment. Moreover, because office booths and pods are highly customisable, you are bound to find the right configuration that can fit perfectly within your budget. All in all, acquiring an office pod, for whatever reason you might need one (adding extra private spaces, creating quiet areas for staff work or recreation, adding state of the art meeting rooms, etc.) will undoubtedly save you time, efforts and money long term.