The privacy point is important. Who would opt for a shared space if they could have their own? Backpackers stay in youth hostel dormitories, but that is because they cannot afford to pay for privacy. Hotels do not ask business travellers whether they would like to have their own rooms or shared ones, because they know the answer. Airlines can charge considerably more for seats that give you some distance from your neighbours. 隐私十分重要。如果能拥有自己的办公室，谁会选择共享办公区呢？背包客们会选择青年旅社的宿舍，但那是因为他们掏不起维护自己隐私的钱。酒店不会询问商旅人士是想单独住、还是想与他人合住，因为它们知道答案。对于那些让你和邻座保持一定间距的舱位，航空公司的收费要高得多。 Whatever small gains open-plan offices do offer in enhanced communication are, in any event, wiped out by the loss of productivity. We do not need academic studies to tell us people get less done when they have to listen to their neighbours conversations and telephone calls. Once again, a commonsense reference to life outside the office suffices: libraries have a rule of silence because it allows people to work. 无论开放式办公室为增进沟通贡献了何种微薄之力，它都被工作效率的降低所抹消。我们不需要学术研究结果就懂得：人们在工作时，若无法躲开邻座的交谈与电话，他们的效率就会降低。再者，参考职场之外的一个常识，就足以说明这个问题：图书馆都有一条保持安静的规定，因为这可以让人安心工作。 It is not just the distractions of open-plan offices that lower productivity. A recent article in the Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management said that employees in open-plan offices were more prone to eye, nose and throat irritations, and more likely to come down with flu. 开放式办公室造成工作效率下降的原因不只是分神。《亚太健康管理期刊》(Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management)最近刊登的一篇文章指出，开放式办公室员工的眼睛、鼻子和、喉咙更容易产生疼痛感，染上流感的机率也更大。 Open-plan offices may offer companionship, but that assumes you like the people whose space you share. It is surely more comfortable to be able to pop into the private office of those you want to see. 开放式办公室或许会给你带来友谊，但前提是你喜欢那个与你共享办公空间的人。当你想与某人交谈时，能去他的私人办公室里谈话，无疑会让人感觉更为自在。 So why are most offices these days open-plan? Because they cost less. The Asia Pacific Journal article put the saving at up to 20 per cent. Not only do open-plan offices allow companies to eliminate the cost of all those walls. they can also fit far more people into the same space. 那么，为什么如今的办公室大多设计成开放式的呢？因为这能降低成本。《亚太健康管理期刊》上的那篇文章称，公司将因此节省至多20%的成本。开放式办公室不仅令公司省掉了建造墙壁的成本，还可在同一办公区间容纳更多的员工。