[srett]

I might not belong to the majority, but I prefer sharing an office with about 2-4 people. I don't get distracted by that, it rather makes me feel I'm actually working in a team, while sitting in a single room leads more to the feeling of being an anonymous coding monkey.

What helps however is that I'm really good at almost zoning out of the real world when I'm focusing on something to the point that people have to repeatedly call my name for me to notice someone wants my attention. And usually if it's not important they will just leave me be instead of interrupting me for some chitchat.

[valuearb]

I can actually do that myself to a degree. But my bigger problem is the visual noise like the traffic coming in and out of the office. I'm guessing you are facing a window or a wall, which should help a lot.

[maxxxxx]

I also like team rooms. With 2-4 people in the same room you can build pretty good friendships while the noise level is still OK.