omg @crystalize, everything you say resonates with me (while making me laugh)...I can sooooo relate.

My thoughts:

1. I don't think it's about saving money on real estate. A building costs the same no matter how it's organized. If real estate costs were an issue, they'd have those whose jobs are conducive to telecommuting, telecommute. Nope, this is all about control.
2. "Open work spaces" and "co-location" are not synonymous. I actually like being co-located with my management and leadership. My best work experience was when my boss' office and his boss' office were just down the hall from my office (that's right...OFFICE). We had plenty of time to collaborate, but we didn't need to be sitting cheek-by-jowl with each other.

Currently I'm in a an "open work space" with a bunch of tangential colleagues, but my boss and her bosses are all several states away. But when it's time for a conference call, they require my colleagues and myself to stuff ourselves in a conference room so we're "together."

We share more germs than ideas.

(P.S. Love the "openenvironmentfromhell" hashtag)