This is the best summary I could come up with:

Tightly spaced desks in open offices also often feel cramped; everyone has just enough room to type without jostling elbows.

As for collaboration, yes, the benefits of in-person work look substantial: In addition to fostering team spirit, it seems to help workers acquire skills, and, over the long run, it probably boosts productivity.

In fact, excessive closeness might be a detriment: In a 2018 study, researchers used digital devices to record actual interactions between co-workers before and after their firm switched from cubicles to an open floor plan.

But the remote work revolution actually makes this tradeoff less painful for the wily manager who is willing to give workers some space and privacy if the boost to productivity outweighs the cost.

As other employers use remote work to downsize their space, owners of commercial properties are facing what Curbed recently dubbed an “office apocalypse.” The site reports that 5 Times Square, formerly “a gleaming centerpiece of 42nd Street’s revival,” is “currently close to empty.” It’s not the only one, and that’s starting to cut into office rental rates.

Rather than try to threaten or cajole their way to the productivity-boosting benefits of in-person work, they can bring their workers together by giving them space to keep apart.

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