[formalsystem]

I found open offices to be an incredibly alienating experience, felt about as personal as a a cubicle since everyone is pretty much using headphones and "deep working" and you can't really make much noise since you're disturbing an entire org if you are.

My favorite experience was working on a team where the open office was essentially a large office for about 6 people only. That felt great since there was a more communal vibe and I had sufficient personal space. We had a couch, a table with a chessboard and some people brought snacks over.

[alexgmcm]

The latter one you describe is basically what I had in grad school and it worked really well.

The former is what I have in industry and if I forget my noise cancelling headphones I might as well go home.