I think at the time they were mostly perceived as a downgrade from individual or duo offices that office workers may have expected at the time. Coming from the

I think at the time they were mostly perceived as a downgrade from individual or duo offices that office workers may have expected at the time. Coming from the bullpen offices we have now cubicles are great, coming from having a room with a door you can close and window to outside they are strictly worse. A lot of this is obviously perceived prestige too, but degrees of (mostly unstated) prestige have always been part of the compensation packages of white collar professionals.