I was always a fan of cubicles, and never got the FAANG fascination with open plan workspaces, that the entire industry seems to have adopted. As the article says, the noise and distraction were always an issue. Even if you used headphones, as most people did most of the time, there were still visual distractions in your peripheral vision. It was a nightmare for productivity, and I'm surprised that the false narrative of how they promote collaboration stuck around this long.

Cubicles were great, especially if you got one near a window. You had the outside view; desks were angular in large cubicles so you had ample space for multiple monitors; the barriers provided just enough visual and noise isolation, while you could always prop up and chat with your neighbors; the barriers also served as tackboards, and people decorated their spaces in unique ways. Et cetera.

I still don't want to go back to working in an office, even if I had a personal space with a door, which most companies can't afford, but they should bring back the cubicle. It will probably be renamed and marketed as something else, but kudos to Meta for taking the lead.