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Recent? Cubicle farms have been around for 30 years, now. We're simply at the truly extreme end of a very long term trend. As for why, the answers there are
by zzalpha 12y ago
Recent? Cubicle farms have been around for 30 years, now. We're simply at the truly extreme end of a very long term trend.
As for why, the answers there are fairly simple: cost and snake oil. 30 years ago open plans and cubicles were pitched as a way to increase "collaboration", with no corroborating evidence that showed a commensurate increase in overall productivity. It was, to put it plainly, salesmanship and BS.
I'd strongly recommend a pass through Peopleware for a more thorough treatment on the topic.
- abalone 12y agoOpen plan is a distinctly different approach than cubicles.
- zzalpha 12y agoTrue. It seems cubicles were an attempt to undo some of the damage of open plan architecture, which goes back even further than I thought: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-origin-of-cubicles-an/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-origin-of-cubi... Damn you, Frank Lloyd Wright!