> The open office layout is meant to foster an egalitarian work environment that inspires creativity and spontaneous collaboration among colleagues.
Wait what? I thought that collaboration was the minor benefit to what is otherwise just a way of making more people fit in less space.
The biggest actual benefit of the open office is that it can be situated in a much better location than an office where developers have private rooms. Ask 10 developers whether they want private offices (or at least not large shared spaces) and they'll probably say yes.
But ask the same 10 developers in an office in a nice location in SF, London, Berlin, Stockholm... whether they'd want private offices at the expense of ending up in an office park where the rent would be the same for the larger office - and they probably don't.
Wait what? I thought that collaboration was the minor benefit to what is otherwise just a way of making more people fit in less space.
The biggest actual benefit of the open office is that it can be situated in a much better location than an office where developers have private rooms. Ask 10 developers whether they want private offices (or at least not large shared spaces) and they'll probably say yes.
But ask the same 10 developers in an office in a nice location in SF, London, Berlin, Stockholm... whether they'd want private offices at the expense of ending up in an office park where the rent would be the same for the larger office - and they probably don't.