Ah yes - the floor space wonks like it and have sold upper management that it is the cool thing to do now. You get on a conference call and the bosses wonder where all the noise is coming from as it sounds like a bunch of call centers being bridged together. Glad I retired while I still had an office.
It is terribly distracting, especially when it comes to having technical discussions on a conference call. When the people adjacent to you are having their own discussions and are totally devoid of the fact you are trying to listen to what is being said on the call. I also get complaints from those on the call about the background noise around me.