You are absolutely correct. I have recently been in workplaces where, almost without exception, managers (mostly non-tech) at or above a certain level deliberat

You are absolutely correct. I have recently been in workplaces where, almost without exception, managers (mostly non-tech) at or above a certain level deliberately held loud phone conversations, or 1-on-1 conversations, while slowly walking laps around the roughly O-shaped open office layouts. They know it pisses people off. It is, almost literally, a pissing contest.