Checking in on Open Offices ↦

I’ve mentioned open office layouts before and the TL;DR version is that they’re terrible. Now Fast Company gives us an update. Here’s the TL;DR version:

Are open offices still terrible?

Yup. They’re still loud and distracting. They still dehumanize everyone with a complete lack of privacy.

Are companies finally going to stop using them?

Nope. They’re so damn cheap compared to building walls that most companies won’t even consider anything else.

Meanwhile, where I’m working at the moment, not only is the office completely open with not so much as a cubicle in sight, we don’t even have permanently assigned desks. So no family pictures on your desk unless you pack them up every night and if you want to keep your same desk, you better get to the office before anyone else who wants it does. It is every bit as awful and dehumanizing as it sounds.