> it's really easy to listen in to conversations and get an idea of what everybody is up to. That's why I prefer something in the middle of open office and hav

> it's really easy to listen in to conversations and get an idea of what everybody is up to. That's why I prefer something in the middle of open office and having a private office: One office per team of 6-8 people. Then one is always in the loop of what's happening, not stuck alone and don't have to listen to that much noise. A good thing with such an arrangement is to have designated "person of contact" per day that handles all disrupts from outside that team's office, leaving the rest to work uninterrupted.