Worth remembering that cubicles were invented as being good for workers as it replaced what amounted to the standard open office floor plan with the bossman loo

Worth remembering that cubicles were invented as being good for workers as it replaced what amounted to the standard open office floor plan with the bossman looking over the workers. Cubicles provided privacy and focusing ability. Of course, like all technology, cubicles, work-from-home, and open floor plans all have pluses and minuses. Personally, I have started to consider the possibility that the problem is we keep thinking about The One Perfect Solution To Rule Them All rather than realizing that no system is good for 40 to 60 hours of work a week with the varied tasks and times needed at each. For most office work you need places for private and individual focus time, places for quick informal chats that don't disturb others, places for small meetings, places for small work groups to collaborate, places for larger meetings, and others. That's without getting into individual worker preference - some love cafe settings for focus, some want bright sunny windows, some dark basements, most will have different preferences for different work. I suppose with enough redundant space you could offer all those things, but that's expensive. Work from home, with proper infrastructure for meeting and collaboration spaces is likely the best fit for many office jobs, but I know from experience that such things also have "work" invade private life and time in ways that can be very off-putting (and vice-versa).