This comes up frequently here. Some people love open floor plans and find cubicles unbearable. Generally they're more extroverted and usually not programmers. O

This comes up frequently here. Some people love open floor plans and find cubicles unbearable. Generally they're more extroverted and usually not programmers. Others, like OP, want privacy, quiet, and focus. I'm not really sure what the solution is, other than maybe "only hire cubicle lovers." You could offer both arrangements and let employees choose, but this probably isn't economically or practically feasible for most companies.