If the company culture is such that taking a 20-minute break to browse HN is going to get you dirty looks or called into a VP's office, having cubicles or offic

If the company culture is such that taking a 20-minute break to browse HN is going to get you dirty looks or called into a VP's office, having cubicles or offices isn't going to change that. Well, I would flat-out walk away from a company where a 20-minute break led to that. It's not the explicit rules that are the issue. It's the stuck-up subtle shit people never tell you about. If you are passed over for a promotion or a good project because you wear headphones too much or don't appear productive, no one will tell you this because (a) it's subconscious and, (b) even if it were conscious, they wouldn't. In an open-plan office, irrelevant stupid shit can raise or lower your social status over the long term, not immediately but minute by minute. You're not aware of the up-and-down drift when it is happening, but you're always being watched. One thing I used to hate that I now think is good (if done properly) is the daily status meeting (standup). Why good? Because it concentrates the Brownian motion of an employee's social status into a small part of the day and allows him to focus on impression management during 10 minutes instead of the full 9-10 hours. Having an office doesn't compensate for shitty culture, but it means you only have to manage impressions during some parts of the day instead of all day, so it's less load overall.