On Wednesday, theHarvard Business Reviewpublished an article asking whypeople feel they canfocus better in a coffee shopthan in anopen-plan office, even though both environments arenoisy. The article cites research that people tend to bemore creativein the presence of noise than in complete silence and that EKG readings reveal that "acertain level of white noise proved the ideal background sound for creative tasks." Considering that white noise is fine andeven beneficial, Why do so many of us hate our open offices? The quiet chatter of colleagues and the gentle thrum of the HVAC shou
