Headphones address the individual perception of ambient noise for the wearer. They do not solve the outbound call quality problem — background office noise remains audible to remote call participants. They do not protect surrounding colleagues from the headphone-wearer’s calls. They signal “do not disturb” visually but do not create a physical barrier to interruption. And they require continuous willpower to maintain — whereas enclosed pods create passive distraction protection that requires no ongoing cognitive effort to sustain.