Every few months there's an opinion piece on HN about open offices. Then everyone gets into the same debate over whether they like the open offices or not. What I'd like to see are new STUDIES about open offices, not the rehashing of personal experiences and anecdotes.
The article we're discussing mentions multiple studies...beyond that there's a great New Yorker article[1] from last year that references a number of studies. This blog post[2] links to a couple others and addresses costs/alternatives.
A "study of over 40,000 survey responses collected over a decade has found that the benefits for workers are quickly outweighed by the disadvantages"[3]. A Washington Post article[4] on office furniture designers realizing (citing multiple studies) "open-plan spaces are actually lousy for workers." And a TIME article[5] highlighted decades of research that associated open layouts with "greater employee stress, poorer co-worker relations and reduced satisfaction with the physical environment."
[1] http://www.newyorker.com/currency-tag/the-open-office-trap
[2] http://nathanmarz.com/blog/the-inexplicable-rise-of-open-flo...
[3] http://theconversation.com/open-plan-offices-attract-highest...
[4] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2015/04...
[5] http://ideas.time.com/2012/08/15/why-the-open-office-is-a-ho...
