But to your point, yes, managers typically have offices. They know open floor plans suck. It's amazing that Apple got duped into thinking it wasn't bullshit.
Another subtle problem with open/unassigned layout is wasting time tracking people down.
Pretty much all the research I've read into this actually says the exact opposite.
Of course, what's missing from that result is all the data saying that open offices also lower productivity, increase distraction frequency, raise stress, and increase sick leave.
Notably, the good results are indirect benefits of open offices, while the downsides are mostly direct. There have been efforts to derive those benefits without actually using open plans - for instance by adopting radial building designs and centralizing shared spaces (conference rooms, cafeterias, etc). That lets you increase 'hallway collaboration' without actually bothering people while they try to work.
Verbal communication is unrecorded communication. Unrecorded communication is communication which must be repeated to any stakeholder who wasn't present. Repetition is inefficient.
Of course, sometimes that's unavoidable. Employees aren't perfect readers and writers - some people have difficulty expressing themselves in prose, others don't have the ability to quickly parse dozens of pages of written communication to pull out the snippets which are personally relevant, and practically speaking they can't all be replaced overnight. Sometimes, emotional appeals need to be privately, unrecorded.
But the long-term benefits of prefer-written communication are so incredibly high. New employees on-board faster and less disruptively. Employees can work from home, commute less, and procure higher-quality housing in less-expensive areas as a result, making them happier with a higher discretionary income.
We were given noise cancelling headphones, but they don't block the visually distractions that come from having no backboard and seeing 30 other desks in front of you.
It may help for people who don't need to concentrate, but I need to get lost in code for some hours to be productive and hit the deadlines.
Interestingly, the problem seems to come from the inconsistency in verbal/visual in an open workspace. Silence and stillness for 10 minutes, then some interruption.
Constant chaos (busy coffee shop, cafeteria, etc) is much easier for me to ignore.
Basically it's just much easier to suggest open is somehow more modern or something than to give everyone an office or pick who gets one.
My solution would actually be to try something kind of crazy with micro-offices, built in video conferencing, noise absorbing panels and advanced ventilation.
A few very high-profile companies seem to have pulled this off. Look up pictures of e.g. the Pixar offices. What you find is spaces that aren't standard, closed offices, but they're not open-plan either. Since it's Pixar, they're often weird and artistic - this office is a plastic castle, this office is a den of curios, etc.
But common across all the different weirdness is modular spaces with solid walls and soft surfaces. Meaning: no distracting backdrops, no easily-spread germs, no random noises, no feeling of someone standing over your shoulder. And yet the space can be reworked without bringing in teams of movers and tearing out load-bearing walls every time you get a new hire.
And sure, "that's just Pixar". You need big budgets and an unusual culture to do that. But... we're talking about Apple. Does anyone really think they can't find a way to put a solid barrier between desks without having to build structurally-fixed offices?
After that I never had an ounce of pushback.
"The building circular—A cage, glazed—a glass lantern about the Size of Ranelagh—The prisoners in their cells, occupying the circumference—The officers in the centre. By blinds and other contrivances, the inspectors concealed […] from the observation of the prisoners: hence the sentiment of a sort of omnipresence—The whole circuit reviewable with little, or if necessary without any, change of place. One station in the inspection part affording the most perfect view of every cell."
"The architecture incorporates a tower central to a circular building that is divided into cells, each cell extending the entire thickness of the building to allow inner and outer windows. The occupants of the cells are thus backlit, isolated from one another by walls, and subject to scrutiny both collectively and individually by an observer in the tower who remains unseen. Toward this end, Bentham envisioned not only venetian blinds on the tower observation ports but also maze-like connections among tower rooms to avoid glints of light or noise that might betray the presence of an observer."
