I work for a large company with an open office plan. We have many different types of employees, from software developers to sales folks to editors and writers.

I work for a large company with an open office plan. We have many different types of employees, from software developers to sales folks to editors and writers. While there is the occasional complaint about a loud coworker or something, I generally very much enjoy the atmosphere, and I hear similar comments from my colleagues. One of the things that makes our implementation very effective is that everyone from the CEO to the interns sit at the same desks and share the same environment. The culture is very open and everyone is encouraged to walk up to anyone and ask them a question or ten, of they have them. This collaborative environment more than makes up for the occasional loss in individual employee productivity, in my opinion. It probably also helps that we are an instant message culture as opposed to a phone conversation one, which cuts down on a lot of the noise distraction as well.