Hybrid Working and Creating the perfect Zoom Room
The open plan, collaborative office has been a staple of office interior design for what feels like a lifetime but with the world and the workplace forever changed due to Covid-19 its time to incorporate zones and spaces that can be used for work, meetings and to take advantage of the zoom boom.
Let’s explore the concept of hybrid working and what it means for the modern workplace and how you can make it work for your business and its employees.
What is hybrid working
A buzz word that’s taken off in the last 12 months, hybrid working means combining various different ways of working, beyond the traditional 9-5, office-based, dedicated desk model. Its likely we are now looking at a post covid world where this manifests as a blend of remote and resident working as more employees will be permitted to work flexibly and from their chosen location.
The workplace is becoming a dynamic environment of moving parts, employers can expect to see an increase in:
- Email conversation
- Communication apps to connect teams
- Video meetings (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Hangout etc)
- Phone calls
- More physical movement around the space
- Increased noise levels with video meetings becoming the norm
- More collaborative sessions as people use the office as a base to come together and share ideas
There will be far less privacy in an open plan design with video meetings.
Could ‘Zoom rooms’ be the answer?
- Holding a video call at your desk offers no privacy and can be extremely disruptive to other members of staff working around or alongside you, even more so than a phone call typically tends to be
- Taking up a larger meeting room or breakout area to find quiet or privacy to tune into a video call isn’t an economical use of space
There is a big shift in office interior design to now include a ‘Zoom room’ – or rooms. Smaller, dedicated spaces, used specifically for video meetings or private phone calls, to negate noise disruption and a lack of privacy.
Budget and space limitations need to be factored in but there is a solution for just about everyone. Most companies will be looking for something with a smaller footprint that won’t break the bank, there are still plenty of great options for you to play around with.
Right now businesses are trying their best to adapt to an ever changing situation. The Irish workforce has done an amazing job in facilitating the work from home recommendations really quickly. But for those still in the office, it’s not really practical or sustainable to expect video meetings to work from your desk.
Discuss your options with us
What Works For You?
We supply a large range of OPEN BOOTHS – These offer the lowest level of privacy and noise control but still an adequate amount for a business with a minimal requirement for either. Booths provide a great place for somebody to take a call, get some work done or join a video meeting away from their desk. It gives them a space that they can talk freely in without taking up a whole meeting area or being a disruption to other staff members.
Or maybe the SEMI SHIELDED option is for you? – This includes booths or pods that have high backs and sides to offer a high degree of privacy and shielding from the surrounding workspace, without being fully concealed. A great option for those short on space or are looking to create an inclusive but modular workspace. These are great for offices which are looking to introduce some acoustic credentials and more privacy than an open booth might offer.
FULLY ENCLOSED – This includes things like phone boxes and acoustic pods, which can be fully contained and concealed by a door and roof. These are less multi-functional but are the best option for a video meeting heavy organisation.
Some furniture product we’d recommend for meeting these requirements are:
- Connection – Muse
- Connection – Nomad
- Connection – Pacework
- Connection – Soloscape
- Mikomax – HushTwin
- Mikomax – HushWork
- Actiu – Link
- Bisley – Vetrospace