According to a Wall Street Journal report, several companies are replacing cubes with open, comfortable common spaces. Companies on the forefront of this movement include Silicon Valley technology firms Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems Inc.; Intel Corp. is currently reviewing the option.

Why the change? Companies are recognizing that office cubes have many shortcomings. For instance, cubicles separate workers with faux walls, creating nothing more than the allusion of privacy. They reduce interaction with colleagues (how often have you emailed your colleague in the next cube?). And they may stifle innovation, something 50 percent of Intel employees agreed with in an internal survey.

Since it began adding open-desk and seating options, Cisco reports a 37 percent reduction in space-related costs, WSJ reports. Embracing telecommuting, Sun MicroSystems says 55 percent of its employees work from home or a remote office as many as two days a week, and when they are in the office they use unassigned spaces such as drop-in desks.

Hewlett-Packard's "Workplace program" manager Chris Hood says isolation should not be the norm, but provided when needed. Contact and collaboration boost productivity for many employees, he told WSJ.

And on the accounting side, increased corporate travel and telecommuting translates to more empty office space. With the rise of wireless networking, companies may find expense relief by pairing flexible work schedules with an open workspace concept.

Source: "Why Silicon Valley Is Rethinking The Cubicle Office." The Wall Street Journal. Oct. 15, 2007.