Outside of the discussion about the cheapness of open floor plans. I think the heart of the matter is that companies are looking for passive collaboration creat

Outside of the discussion about the cheapness of open floor plans. I think the heart of the matter is that companies are looking for passive collaboration creators. This is because actively collaborating: reaching out, holding team sessions, scheduling meetings, following up, etc. is hard. These companies ask themselves, why put energy into a system when we can foster serendipitous collaboration? There is something to it, and especially with putting people geographically near each other, but I think reliance on this kind of form actually is a detriment to most white-collar type jobs. There needs to be a reason for people to interact in a work context, to find common or linking skills or activities. I think it would be better served if most companies just had a once a month mixer and the rules were that you had to sit at a table with all strangers, introduce yourselves, your background, what you did and what you were currently working on. In my experience that exchange seems to bring for more promise of future collaboration than any number of passings at the coffee machine or trying to drown out your neighbor 3 cubes over with headphones and loud music.