The term "sweat shop" is certainly provocative and, to be fair, evokes subtext that isn't applicable to this debate. For instance, in most cases, sweat shops ar

The term "sweat shop" is certainly provocative and, to be fair, evokes subtext that isn't applicable to this debate. For instance, in most cases, sweat shops are illegal and famous for abusing their employees (i.e. forced labor). I think an assembly line (as pictured in the post) is a much better comparison. Assembly lines are legal and popular, their goal is to lower costs for the company as much as possible. In most cases, the comfort of the employee isn't a big consideration as the goal is to lower costs. They are noisy and they aren't great work environments. I do not want to work on an assembly line. The open floor plan office, in my opinion, is very similar to an assembly line. Employees are in close proximity to one another and lack personal space or any kind of privacy. If you need to make a call, you need to leave your desk and go into the hall, bathroom, etc. Unlike the cubes of the past (which were not well loved) there's no place to put pictures of loved ones or to safely store reference material (manuals not available online, etc.) They are noisy and, as has been pointed out, they are harmful to the employees physical and mental well being. I do not want to work in an open floorplan office. http://vanessaauditore.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/privacy-in-the-open-plan-office.jpeg http://vanessaauditore.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/privac...