I remember pre-pandemic on an office town hall meeting there was a discussion on the remodelling. PMO and other “people persons” wanted to get the open space treatment, whereas devs, testers, etc. just wanted actual offices.
Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, etc were all convinced that open plan offices were the next big thing. All of them are now either back to cubicles or their employees are begging to go back to cubicles.
It all boils down to company expenses. Most employers I met openly admitted that open plan offices with „hot desks“ (less work spaces than employees) were just cheaper than actually providing everyone with a proper working environment.
I remember a former employer where you couldn‘t get a working office chair, if you were late at the office. All the good working chairs were already taken an hour after the office opened.
No wonder people rather like to work from home…
