It really just boils down people wanting a quiet place to work, or not, and employers wilfully ignoring that. It's documented ad-nauseum that developers (or an

It really just boils down people wanting a quiet place to work, or not, and employers wilfully ignoring that. It's documented ad-nauseum that developers (or any other job that requires concentration and reasoning) are far more productive in quiet surroundings. I've worked in my own office, with a door, for a couple of years out of a 30 year career, and those two years were by far the most productive. Apart from the last 3 where WFH has been even better. Open plan offices are awful for most, and commuting 90 minutes each way, standing for the full 90 minutes on a rush hour train into London is also a waste of time. I'm sure it's the same in the US, but substitute car and traffic jams for trains. The tl;dr here is, if there's so much office space available and going cheaply now, isn't about time employers add proper offices for those that want them, and entice a large number of developers back to the office? This industry is rich, pays $$$, pays $$$ bonuses, employs smart people, will supply you with $3k, $4k, $5k laptops, desktops, $1-2k monitors, peripherals, free lunch, standing desks, send you on 1-2k conferences and travel, and so on and so on. But not personal offices. WTF.