I read a REALLY interesting article from Fast Company on why open workspaces are not good for employees [read it here]. They made some great points that really resonate with the place I'm working right now. The biggest issue with an open work space is you can't focus. I can't tune everything out and just focus on what I'm doing. There's someone talking or doing something else around you, or the hum of the AC. So you turn to headphones, but then you've got music or something going. There's never just silence. The other issue, from a creative person standpoint, is there's no relaxing when you're in an open floor plan. There's times I have to come up with something totally new and original. I can't stare at a screen and force it to appear. I need to move around. Maybe shoot a basket or two on a little tykes hoop. Bounce a ball off the wall. Stare at the ceiling. All of these things you can't do in an open workspace. Long story short? They don't work.