Office Phone Booths and Focus Pods: Do You Need Them?
Short answer: If your office is open-plan and people take regular phone or video calls, yes. A phone booth is a small enclosed space of about 1.0 x 1.0 m for one person, with a seat or stool, a small shelf, lighting, a power point and ventilation. Plan roughly one booth for every 15 to 20 open-plan seats. Booths take calls off the work floor, which is the single most effective way to reduce noise complaints.
The open office solved a space problem and created a noise problem. The loudest and most distracting sound on any floor is one side of someone else’s phone conversation. Phone booths deal with that directly, and they cost far less floor area than a meeting room.
What is the difference between a phone booth, a focus pod and a meeting pod?
| Type | People | Approx. footprint | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone booth | 1, standing or perched | 1.0 x 1.0 m | Calls of 5 to 20 minutes |
| Focus pod or work booth | 1, seated at a desk | 1.2 x 1.2 m to 1.5 x 1.2 m | Video calls, concentrated work for an hour or two |
| Two-person pod | 2, facing each other | 2.0 x 1.2 m | One-to-ones, interviews |
| Meeting pod | 4 | 2.2 x 1.5 m to 2.4 x 2.0 m | Small team discussions |
| Open acoustic nook | 1 to 2 | Varies | High-backed seat with side panels; not fully enclosed |
What should a phone booth have inside?
- A perch or seat. A stool or padded ledge for short calls; a proper chair for focus pods.
- A shelf or small top. About 300 to 400 mm deep for a laptop, at standing or sitting height to match the seat.
- Lighting. Soft, even light in front of the user so the face is clear on video. Motion-sensor switching saves forgetting to turn it off.
- Power. A socket and USB charging point.
- Ventilation. A quiet fan that changes the air continuously. An unventilated booth becomes stuffy within minutes and will not be used.
- Acoustic lining. Absorbent panels on the walls and ceiling so the voice does not echo.
- A glazed door or panel. So others can see it is occupied and the user does not feel shut in.
- A door that seals. Gaps around the door leak most of the sound.
How soundproof is a phone booth?
No booth is completely soundproof, and it does not need to be. The aim is that speech inside becomes a low murmur outside, not intelligible words, and that office noise does not disturb the call. Three things decide how well a booth performs:
- Mass. Dense wall panels and laminated or thick glass block more sound.
- Seals. A well-fitted door with seals all round.
- Absorption inside. Soft lining stops the user raising their voice to compensate for echo.
Ventilation openings are the weak point, which is why good booths route air through baffled channels.
How many phone booths does an office need?
| Open-plan seats | Booths to plan |
|---|---|
| Up to 20 | 1 |
| 20 to 50 | 2 to 3 |
| 50 to 100 | 4 to 6 |
| 100 to 200 | 7 to 12 |
Increase the number for sales, recruitment, customer success and any team that is on calls for much of the day, and for hybrid offices where most meetings include remote colleagues. See hybrid office layouts and hot-desking.
Ready-made pod or built on site?
| Factor | Ready-made modular pod | Custom-built booth |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | Assembled in hours; no civil work | Built as part of the fit-out or as furniture |
| Relocation | Can be moved to a new office | Usually fixed |
| Fit | Fixed sizes | Made to an alcove, corner or under-stair space |
| Finish | Limited colours | Matches office laminates and fabrics |
| Ventilation and lighting | Built in | Must be designed in |
| Building services | Freestanding; check sprinkler and AC rules | Tied into ceiling, AC and fire systems |
A booth that reaches the ceiling may need its own sprinkler head and air supply under your building’s fire and HVAC rules. Freestanding booths with their own roof avoid some of this, but always check with the building’s facility team first.
Where should phone booths go?
- Close to the teams that make the most calls, within a short walk of their desks
- Along the edge of the open area, not in the middle of circulation
- In leftover spaces: column bays, ends of corridors, beside storage walls
- Away from the pantry and printer, which are noisy
- In small groups of two or three, so that one is usually free
Booth etiquette that keeps them available
- No bookings; first come, first served
- A suggested time limit, such as 20 to 30 minutes for phone booths
- Not to be used as a private office for the day
- Leave it clean; no food
Cheaper alternatives if the budget is tight
- High-backed acoustic chairs or sofas in a quiet corner
- A semi-enclosed nook made from storage units and acoustic panels
- Converting one small meeting room into two booths with a partition
- Acoustic screens around a standing-height table for short calls
These do not match a sealed booth but they help. Room options are compared in meeting room types explained, and glazing in glass partitions for offices.
Common mistakes
- No ventilation, or a noisy fan
- A door without seals
- Hard surfaces inside, so voices boom
- Lighting above and behind the user, which looks poor on video
- Too few booths, so they are always occupied
- Placing booths far from the people who need them
Booths and pods for Pune offices
We build custom booths and acoustic nooks as part of office furniture projects at our workshop in Dhanori, finished to match your workstations. See the office furniture range.
Frequently asked questions
What size is an office phone booth?
About 1.0 x 1.0 m for a single-person booth and about 2.2 m high. A seated focus pod is roughly 1.2 x 1.2 m or larger.
How many phone booths does an office need?
Roughly one for every 15 to 20 open-plan seats, and more for call-heavy teams.
Are office phone booths soundproof?
Not completely. A good booth reduces speech to a low murmur outside and blocks most office noise, which is enough for private calls.
Do phone booths need ventilation?
Yes. A quiet fan that changes the air continuously is essential, otherwise the booth becomes stuffy within minutes.
Talk to Encore Interiors
Encore Interiors designs, manufactures and installs office furniture from its own workshop in Dhanori, Pune.
Address: Survey No. 19, 3/1, near Shard Lawns, Madhav Nagar, Dhanori, Pune, Maharashtra 411015
Phone: +91 89799 31695, +91 75076 17409
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