“Today we moved into our new Facebook building”
I would literally switch jobs (and perhaps careers, if every company was like this) if forced to work in an open office like this. I cannot work that way; I can't focus.<p>I realize that I'm adding nothing constructive to this thread; I don't care. Maybe some manager somewhere will see this and a hundred other anecdotal opinions and think twice about open offices.<p>I am the opposite of a prima donna. <i>I just want to work.</i>  I want to make awesome stuff, keep my skills sharp and make the company some money. Preferably lots of it.<p>I'd be fine with an office that's literally 5x5', a desk, a door, a wifi connection, and some shared working areas for when it's time to collaborate. Because yes, collaboration is crucial (and fun) but if I have to hunt all over the damn building for a bit of quiet space (that might not even be avaiable) when it's time to bear down and do some solo coding then this is not going to work.<p>Hell, I'll even bring my own damn desk, chair, and laptop. Supplied my own laptop to my last two jobs. No big deal. I'm an engineer; I get paid decently. But I need a freaking <i>place</i> to <i>focus</i> for at <i>least</i> half of any given working week - and sometimes, for close to the entire week.<p>I don't need: famous guest speakers, catered food, fancy architecture, anything. I wouldn't even care if the office was a poorly-insulated garage that gets cold in the winter. I'll bring my own $20 space heater that will heat a 5x5' office just fine.<p>What I can't have, if you want me to get any work done, is multiple simultaneous conversations taking place five feet away from my head all day long.