It was a great setup as you’d build nice team dynamics and easily talk, but didn’t need assistive technology like headphones and white noise machines to function.
15 years later, I’m probably skill in regular contact with about 50% of the people I worked with in that environment.
I am interested to see how work habits change and evolve. For me personally mostly working from home and then heading in to something of an open office with conference rooms is ideal because on the in-office day the only reason for me to be there is peer collaboration anyway so I wouldn’t need an office.
For a lot of companies at this point, having dedicated individual work spaces for most employees doesn't make a lot of sense unless they have specific equipment needs and are going to come in most days.
Closed doors are like therapist room - you get to the meaning of topics fast. They allow conflict resolution and discussion.
Open concept are like libraries, everyone is silently trying to to disturb each other working. Full of visual and audible distractions.
WFH remote meeting have the lowest form of communication bandwidth. It's hard to arbitrage interactions with no visual cues, invites multi-tasking during meetings, and encourages disengagement.
So, like, if you Zoom'ed?
Which, unless the meeting is about hanky panky or massage or something, should be just as good for the purposes of technical discussion...
Can your manager just disrupt you and micromanage you in person at all times at home?
Does it even justify their role in the company when noone can see his subordinates all together in the same space?