{"id":872034,"date":"2025-10-15T08:12:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T12:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/?p=872034"},"modified":"2025-10-15T10:42:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T14:42:16","slug":"7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Easy Ways to Add Privacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

As more organizations are increasingly requiring employees to spend more days in the office, one of the biggest barriers to a successful return is the lack of privacy. Open-plan layouts and shared spaces often leave employees without places to focus, hold confidential conversations, or recharge. The rise in video calls has only intensified the issue, creating a greater need for quiet, enclosed areas \u2014 spaces that many offices simply weren\u2019t designed to accommodate.<\/p>\n

Steelcase data shows a significant gap between how important people believe different types of workspaces are\u2014like those for focus, collaboration, socializing, learning, and rejuvenation\u2014and their satisfaction with how well those spaces actually work. The biggest gaps are in focus and rejuvenation, where satisfaction scores fall far below their importance. And it’s costing companies more than just a few grumbles\u2014it\u2019s impacting productivity, engagement, wellbeing, and the overall success of hybrid work strategies<\/p>\n

The good news? You don\u2019t need to redesign your entire office. You just need to rethink how privacy<\/a> is built into your workplace design. Here are seven smart, proven ways to create spaces that help people do their best work.<\/p>\n

1. Zone your floorplan for focus<\/h2>\n

Location matters. Place high-energy areas like caf\u00e9s or collaboration lounges near the entrance or away from workstations. Carve out quiet zones\u2014like libraries, nooks or individual focus areas\u2014deeper into the floorplate. This natural flow from social to secluded helps reduce sound bleed and distractions.<\/p>\n

Think of your office like a city\u2014keep the “City Center” vibrant, but make sure there are peaceful areas to escape the bustle and noise.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

2. Put privacy within reach<\/h2>\n

People often take calls at their desks, not by choice, but because there\u2019s nowhere else to go. Fix this by scattering phone booths, enclaves and pods close to work areas, so they\u2019re easy to slip into for quick conversations or deep thinking. Don\u2019t isolate these spaces in a distant corner\u2014if they\u2019re not nearby, they won\u2019t be used.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

3. Add visual privacy \u2014 walls are not always the answer<\/h2>\n

Total enclosure isn\u2019t always necessary. Visual barriers like tall storage units, planters, desk screens or shelving block sightlines and create a feeling of separation without cutting people off from their teams.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not about shutting people in\u2014it\u2019s about giving them a break from being on display.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

4. Design for different levels of privacy<\/h2>\n

People need choices \u2014 because everyone\u2019s privacy needs shift throughout the day. Steelcase researchers suggest focusing on three types of privacy: acoustic help in the open (like screens or panels) to reduce noise in shared spaces; shielded zones that offer partial enclosure for focused work while staying connected; and fully enclosed spaces for calls, quiet work or private conversations.<\/p>\n

\"Orangebox\"<\/p>\n

5. Create acoustic sanctuaries<\/h2>\n

Sound is one of the biggest culprits behind workplace frustration. To quiet things down, use materials like felt ceiling panels, acoustic tiles, soft furniture and even rugs. Soundscapes, such as sounds from nature, bring the benefits of these sounds indoors. A well-designed soundscape supports different work modes\u2014like focus, collaboration or relaxation\u2014by managing noise levels and sound quality. Layer these elements throughout the office to minimize noise travel. A visually stunning room won\u2019t help if it echoes like a gym.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

6. Watch people\u2019s backs<\/h2>\n

Avoid placing desks with backs to walkways\u2014it makes people feel exposed. Orient workstations so employees have some control over their visual field. Add shielding elements where possible, and keep high-traffic areas out of people\u2019s peripheral vision. A small layout tweak can make a big difference in how comfortable\u2014and productive\u2014people feel.<\/p>\n

\"woman<\/p>\n

7. Make it adaptable<\/h2>\n

Privacy needs change by the hour. Equip spaces with movable screens, height-adjustable desks, and modular furniture so people can shape their environment. The more control employees have, the more they can adapt their space to their needs in the moment.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

\n

Privacy isn\u2019t about hiding<\/strong>\u2014it\u2019s about empowerment and giving people choice and control over how they work. Humans thrive when they feel like they are part of a community, but creating community doesn\u2019t mean people should be together all the time. Great communities include residential and rejuvenation spaces, where people can be alone and find solitude when they need it. Steelcase\u2019s Community-Based Design planning approach can help create layers of privacy that accommodate people\u2019s needs, together or alone.<\/p>\n

For more ideas about how to design for privacy:<\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD PRIVACY DESIGN GUIDE<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As employees work more in the office, many are rediscovering the challenges of noisy, open workspaces. Seven simple design strategies can transform noisy places into focused, flexible workspaces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60004,"featured_media":864906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"topic":[5484,47677],"class_list":["post-872034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-privacy","topic-wellbeing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n7 Easy Ways to Add Privacy - Steelcase<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Easy Ways to Add Privacy - Steelcase\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As employees work more in the office, many are rediscovering the challenges of noisy, open workspaces. Seven simple design strategies can transform noisy places into focused, flexible workspaces.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Steelcase\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-15T12:12:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-15T14:42:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,dpr_auto,q_70,h_600,w_1200\/v1745523182\/24-0238120_16x9.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mariangela Guzman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mariangela Guzman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"7 Easy Ways to Add Privacy - Steelcase","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"7 Easy Ways to Add Privacy - Steelcase","og_description":"As employees work more in the office, many are rediscovering the challenges of noisy, open workspaces. Seven simple design strategies can transform noisy places into focused, flexible workspaces.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/","og_site_name":"Steelcase","article_published_time":"2025-10-15T12:12:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-15T14:42:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,dpr_auto,q_70,h_600,w_1200\/v1745523182\/24-0238120_16x9.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mariangela Guzman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mariangela Guzman","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/"},"author":{"name":"Mariangela Guzman","@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5a7b5c3d4a9813b96b76b0cb9a539e3d"},"headline":"7 Easy Ways to Add Privacy","datePublished":"2025-10-15T12:12:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-15T14:42:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/"},"wordCount":744,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1745523182\/24-0238120_16x9.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/","url":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/","name":"7 Easy Ways to Add Privacy - Steelcase","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1745523182\/24-0238120_16x9.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-15T12:12:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-15T14:42:16+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1745523182\/24-0238120_16x9.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1745523182\/24-0238120_16x9.jpg","width":2560,"height":1440},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/privacy\/7-ways-to-add-privacy-without-adding-walls\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"7 Easy Ways to Add Privacy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/","name":"Steelcase","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/#organization","name":"Steelcase","url":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1531399627\/sc_core_424_sm-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/v1531399627\/sc_core_424_sm-1.jpg","width":331,"height":87,"caption":"Steelcase"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5a7b5c3d4a9813b96b76b0cb9a539e3d","name":"Mariangela Guzman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/31050a1f521b4a5646190456b065a7f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/31050a1f521b4a5646190456b065a7f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mariangela Guzman"},"url":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/author\/mguzman2steelcase-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/restapi\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872034"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/restapi\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/restapi\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/restapi\/wp\/v2\/users\/60004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/restapi\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872034"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/restapi\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":873385,"href":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/restapi\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872034\/revisions\/873385"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/restapi\/wp\/v2\/media\/864906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/restapi\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/restapi\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=872034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}