Well all the research basically shows that productivity goes down when distractions increase, so you won't even see anyone quoting research to justify their dec

Well all the research basically shows that productivity goes down when distractions increase, so you won't even see anyone quoting research to justify their decision. The executives who make this kind of decision generally know they will always have a nice office so it won't hurt them (and maybe the unsaid reason is that deep down they know that only them having an office helps the little people to understand their place in the org). It doesn't help when the cool kids like Facebook endorse this kind of idiocy - other companies feel it is safer to just follow what others are doing. We need to have a new major tech player endorse the idea that the goal of a company building is to make the workers as productive as possible - you get better work from them, they enjoy it more and it will become easier to retain or recruit people.