[rdtsc]

Open office "advantage" is the story owners who can't afford to pay for a better location tell the developers.

Sort of like the guy whose car broke so he is taking his tractor to work. He would tell the world how tractors are so much better and have all these great advantages compared to regular cars.

[RogerL]

I think that is a bit unfair or cynical. I loathe open offices, but plenty of people who have no financial ties to the layout advocate for them (such as my immediate boss).

For some reason people believe the "collaboration" argument without evidence, but dismiss the evidence that productivity is lower in open offices. I suspect they are extraverts or high stimulation people that cannot grok introverts or low stimulation folks. When I was in school I could never study with music, for example; others require it at loud volume to even settle down.

[s73v3r]

Does your immediate boss plan on giving up their office as well, and sitting out in the open with everyone?

[RogerL]

We've been in this office for almost a year. Everyone sits in the same big room.

[beamatronic]

I've seen managers with a huge budget rip out the tall cubicles and replace them with the small ones, to get these "advantages".

Result: Everyone was unhappy

[Florin_Andrei]

Kinda like when 'Office Space' and 'Idiocracy' had a bastard child.

[clay_to_n]

Literally getting all the disadvantages and none of the advantages of open office plans. Love it.

[baddox]

That doesn't seem to explain, say, Facebook's massive new office with an open plan. I suspect they could have afforded more walls.

[BadassFractal]

It's in part this as well. You can find open office space for dirt cheap even in places like SF.