Cubicles Supercharge Productivity: The Hidden Gem in Today’s Chaotic Offices

Why Cubicles Are the Perfect Weapon Against Open-Plan Office Chaos

András M.
4 min readSep 21, 2023

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image: midjourney
image: midjourney

Cubicles were once the de-facto standard in corporate offices. These semi-enclosed spaces were designed to maximise floor space and productivity by protecting the employees from distractions such as noise, the sight of people walking, or birds or cars moving outside.

People laugh when I say that birds are a major distraction for me, but it is true, so in my home office I work with my back facing the windows.

The first commercially available cubicle was the Action Office product line by Herman Miller, introduced in 1964. More than half a decade later, the concept of cubicles remained just about unchanged. It didn’t have to change because it was perfect to begin with.

I know some might think I’m being sarcastic, so allow me to explain why a modern, open-plan office is suboptimal for everyone, but it’s downright a nightmare for someone with ADHD.

Here are the five biggest benefits of office cubicles

1. Privacy

The biggest downside of open-plan offices, in my opinion, is the complete lack of privacy. They are supposed to encourage collaboration and team…

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András M.

I’m a software engineer, manager, neurodivergent hobby hoarder. I write about data privacy, ADHD, tech, arts and things in between.