Companies absolutely are doing it because it’s trendy. Lost productivity and increase of communicable diseases / sick time have been shown over and over to outw

Companies absolutely are doing it because it’s trendy. Lost productivity and increase of communicable diseases / sick time have been shown over and over to outweigh any superficial real estate savings, even just in a bottom line basis, and it’s not even factoring in effect on morale, superficial “collaboration” and other sources of additional lost productivity. Many companies spend huge, huge sums of money on open plan offices. Like, not just renting them but tricking them out with super expensive desk units, fountains, game areas, etc. They even pay money to tear down privacy features and replace them with functionless decorations like exposed ductwork or glass whiteboard walls, even when they have no plan at all to increase worker density.