Evidence Against Open Offices Link

I link to Derek Lowe for this one because the first comment nails it (and I think Derek gets it too). I’ll quote the same bit Derek does because it summarizes my entire experience:

Compared with standard offices, employees experienced more uncontrolled interactions, higher levels of stress, and lower levels of concentration and motivation. . .

When interviewing “younger” workers, the original author notes:

But they believed that the trade-offs were ultimately worth it, because the open space resulted in a sense of camaraderie; they valued the time spent socializing with coworkers, whom they often saw as friends.

Open offices were designed by people that don’t need to think hard. I’m guessing it was an H.R. decision.