Do we have to have one or the other? Can an office have private/personal work spaces, and communal open social places that can sometimes host real work? I feel often that managers/owners feel they have to force one or the other on their staff, not considering that their people are probably very diverse, and seek differing models from individual to individual.
Inevitably there's a limited amount of floor space; somebody ends up on the wrong side. I'd say, why not have closed offices space entirely, and let the socializers wander from room to room?
