I fully agree with this article. Some years back I even left an employer for a lesser position specifically because they went from cubicles to open office. That kind of caused the company some problems as they were under contract with a tight delivery date, I was then the center of some engineering developments and they didn’t actually have anyone else at the time capable of stepping into those particular developments. I literally couldn’t think straight while crowded in the open with 40 other engineers and felt constantly exhausted. Some people just don’t do well in crowds, and management that treats employees like Lego blocks isn’t going to keep any competitive edge it might have.