Open plan workplaces. How do we feel about them? Now, we’re all up for modernism and advancement but when it comes to actually being able to get work done, open-plan workplaces SUCK. And there’s a lot of science to back that up. Basically, nobody gets shit done if they’re distracted all day long. 

 

There’s nothing worse than really being in the zone and then your colleague decides it’s an appropriate time to tell you about the annoying wart on their foot. No privacy, no quiet space to actually think and don’t get us started on the germ factor. 

 

So how the hell are people meant to survive in the workplace without murdering everyone around them? One proposed solution was for employers to enforce quiet time for a few hours daily. No crunchy snacks allowed! Or perhaps grow a hedge around your desk so people don’t even know you’re there. 

 

Or how about your very own enormous, spine-crushing, privacy helmet?

 

Enter The Isolator invented by Hugo Gernsback in 1925. Gernsback was a Luxembourgish-American inventor, writer, editor, engineer, designer, businessman, and magazine publisher. He was a machine and boy did he go to town with this invention. 

 

The Isolator was designed to minimise visual reach, granting the wearer absolute concentration on whatever they were doing. Picture a helmet that looks like a cross between Darth Vader's headgear and a Victorian diving bell. Despite its steampunk aesthetic, the main issue was that the helmet was so sealed that it would fill with recycled carbon dioxide, causing people to get sleepy. 

 

Not to worry. He fixed that issue by adding an oxygen tank extension to the front, making it one humungous noise-cancelling diving bell helmet. Very appealing.

 

Unsurprisingly, Gernsback’s middle finger solution to open-plan offices didn’t get the uptake he might have expected. Workers would just have to continue to put up with the cesspool of TMI, obnoxious laughter and disease-ridden sneezes from their colleagues.

 

Well, not if the Ukrainian design company, Hochu Rayu, has anything to do with it. 

 

Introducing the "Helmfon," a blend of "helmet" and "phone" that burst on the scene in 2017. It's not just noise-cancelling; it's a compact isolation chamber with a microphone, Bluetooth, camera, and room for your smartphone. A personal oasis of focus in the midst of a bustling office environment. 

 

Solitude in the midst of chaos. Every introvert’s dream.

 

So are distracted and disease prone workers finding solace in these oversized tech-nerd’s-dream helmets? 

 

Perhaps the only solution is to just get rid of bloody open office spaces altogether. 

PREVIOUS EPISODES MENTIONED:

• Open Plan Offices!
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SOURCES:

 

• Why the Inventor of the Cubicle Came to Despise His Own Creation  HISTORY
• Open plan offices are bad for business  BI.
• 8 Proven Ways to Stay Focused in A Busy Office
• Staying Focused in a Noisy Open Office
• 7 Fullproof Ways to Block Out Noisy Coworkers for Good  Zenbooth.
• 10 proven hacks for laser-guided focus in a busy office  Creative Boom
• This Vintage Anti-Distraction Helmet Looks Like a Creepy Horror Show Prop
• This Isolation Helmet Completely Blocks Out Workplace Distractions
• The Isolator – A bizarre helmet from 1925 designed to improve work productivity  The Vintage News
• Hochu-rayu

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