[run4yourlives]

That's what I'd want, somebody doing chin-ups next to my desk while I'm struggling with some pesky coding issue.

I know I'm not in the in crowd for saying this, but open concept offices suck, no matter how cool they may be. Joel is definitely bang on with this. Hasn't anyone read Peopleware?

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/BionicOffice.html

[truebosko]

I would hurt myself if I had to work behind a wall. At my office, it's open concept. I'm the only guy doing anything remotely related to tech work (Other staff are sales, shipping, products, etc) and it's nice to not only be able to sit back and talk a bit when you need a break but also to know what's going on in the company from others perspective.

In my opinion, an open office especially in a smaller environment keeps everyone in the know about the company and builds a stronger unity towards the primary goal

[biohacker42]

That may work if you're the tech guy at a non tech company, and your work comes in short spurts.

But if you're a coder, essentially dong applied math for 8 hours a day, piece and quiet make a big difference.

[furiouslol]

I wouuld say you would be more productive with private offices but the culture and the camaraderie within the office would probably be better with an open concept.

[run4yourlives]

With respect, it's productivity that's going to pay the bills, with a few exceptions obviously.

This type of stuff seems to be more "we're cool like back in the dot com" than it is about getting the product out the door.