I've done both and much prefer offices. It's much easier to collaborate in an office than it is to drown out distracting noise from a shared workspace. Offices

I've done both and much prefer offices. It's much easier to collaborate in an office than it is to drown out distracting noise from a shared workspace. Offices don't keep you from being able to swing by someone's desk or have someone drop by yours, unless you shut your door for a reason. My current area at work is open and I have to on occasion bring ear plugs to keep the noise down to a level where I can concentrate. There are group meetings, conference calls on speakerphone, and loud personal conversations happening all the time. IMO, if it comes to needing ear plugs then the one purported benefit of working in an open area is lost since you can't really be sharing/collaborative if you've closed yourself off.