The office depicted in this article looks almost exactly like the office I used to work in before I moved to a smaller place a year ago. It was a nightmare for

The office depicted in this article looks almost exactly like the office I used to work in before I moved to a smaller place a year ago. It was a nightmare for those who are sometimes loosely (and perhaps erroneously) categorized as type-A personalities: I want to focus on one thing and do it as perfectly as possible before moving onto the next thing; I hate multitasking unless the situation calls for it; I have highly (and perhaps unnecessarily) attuned peripheral vision and hearing. The chatter was impossible to tune out -- especially design discussions taking place two workstations over. People who did 'soft' jobs kept suggesting that I listen to music to drown out the chatter without realizing that mine is not the sort of work that can be done while music is playing. People walking about in the background behind my screen would distract me from the complicated problem displayed on it. It was difficult to have private chats with people -- the moment I asked to see someone in one of the glass cubicles, everyone (including the person called) would assume that person was in trouble. My current office layout is very 'residential' -- smaller rooms, wooden furniture, doors and windows, no sterile white partitions and ceilings etc. Needless to say, I haven't had any problems concentrating.