"Indeed, some of these solutions are trying to solve problems that only exist in the first place because of open plan offices. You don’t need speakers blasting white noise at your head or removable partitions to reduce glare if you’ve got a room of your own to work in.
I’m sure the Times is playing up some of these more bizarre elements, and it’s not like Google employees are known for the hardships they face. But it does baffle me somewhat that such complicated solutions need to be created in the first place. Maybe old-fashioned offices (with appropriate ventilation) could be the answer? Specially if you don’t have to fit in as many employees because more are working from home.
I may be alone in this, but I’ve always quite fancied a genuine, honest-to-goodness, walls-and-a-door office of my own. That was true pre-pandemic and it’ll be true post-pandemic, too. Ironically, it’s only being forced to work remotely that’s meant I’ve created a decent working space in my own home for the first time. If only I could get the same at the office."