FAQs

Yes — and in measurable terms. The typical home working environment during quiet periods operates at 30–40 dB ambient. A HIGHKA pod, in a 65 dB open-plan office ambient, achieves approximately 36 dB interior ambient (DS,A = 29.4 dB). This places the pod interior within the acoustic range of a quiet home working environment —

The research on optimal hybrid frequency is nuanced. JLL’s data suggests 3 days on-site per week as the point at which employee engagement and wellbeing metrics are most positive. Gallup’s 2023 research shows that engagement is highest among employees who spend 3–4 days in the office per week — sufficient for social connection and cultural

Yes — precisely because of this preference. The preference for home on focused work days is driven by the acoustic advantage home typically provides over the open-plan office: near-silence for individual tasks. When the office provides equivalent or better acoustic conditions through certified enclosed pods (DS,A = 29.4 dB, ISO 23351-1), this preference reverses: the

The difference is independently certified ISO 23351-1 DS,A performance versus a marketing description. “Comfortably quiet,” “excellent acoustics,” and similar descriptions tell you nothing about the actual acoustic performance — they are subjective characterisations that cannot be tested or compared. DS,A under ISO 23351-1 from a named accredited laboratory is a verifiable, comparable specification. HIGHKA’s DS,A

Yes — and this is increasingly common among corporate tenants who understand the acoustic requirements of their hybrid teams. HIGHKA pods are freestanding equipment that require no building modification, no permits, and no landlord consent. They can be specified in your lease as tenant property, assembled on move-in day, and moved to the next premises

Research supports approximately one enclosed acoustic space per 10–15 employees for knowledge-intensive teams as a baseline. For a 50-person hybrid team, 4–6 pods in a mixed model configuration — 2 single/paired pods (Model S or M) and 2 small meeting pods (Model L) — provides the acoustic gradient that covers individual focus work, private calls,

The acoustic infrastructure — specifically the availability and certified performance of enclosed acoustic spaces for individual focused work. This is the functional requirement that most directly determines whether employees will use the office for their most important cognitive work, or choose home instead. An office with excellent location, design, and amenities but inadequate acoustic infrastructure

The evidence strongly favours multiple small acoustic pods over large conference rooms for hybrid office investment. Large conference rooms are sized for meetings that represent a minority of actual meeting frequency (40% of meetings involve 4–6 people, not 8–12). They require permits, construction time, and reinstatement liability. They are unavailable when occupied — creating booking

The most reliable measurement framework: (1) pre-investment baseline survey measuring noise-related concentration difficulty, voluntary office attendance rate, and peak pod utilisation; (2) 60-day post-investment resurvey measuring the same variables; (3) ongoing utilisation monitoring. For acoustic pods specifically, pod utilisation rate above 70% during peak hours is a signal of both strong demand and ROI realisation

The acoustic gradient — certified enclosed space for focused work plus open floor for collaboration — has the most direct and consistent research support for its impact on knowledge worker productivity and voluntary office attendance. Technology investments (AV, video conferencing systems) are important but are often already in place. Furniture and amenity investments improve experience