> I can often smell the people around me. Generally, they don’t smell good. I can often hear conversations that are on the other side of the office. (Have you ever tried to add up numbers while someone else says other random numbers at you? It’s like that.) When people walk past my field of vision, I can’t focus on my screen. When I try to tune out all of these distractions, it consumes a lot of energy. Doing it hour after hour, day after day would leave me depleted, exhausted, unable to focus.

I always just thought putting up with this was what I got paid for. Like isn't this why working on-site sucks?

That’s a sad way to see things. Aren’t you paid to solve problems? To create value somehow?

And apparently there are people who find these environments energizing. It seems like those people are the ones who make these cruel policies. But 20-30% of all humans are highly sensitive and they generally find situations like this draining. Most autistic people are highly sensitive. My guess is that many of us would be on the high end of the HSP spectrum. When I take HSP assessments I max out every measure. I often feel like a bundle of exposed nerve endings.

And I need to point out that this is not inherently disabling. When I’m out in nature or experiencing great art or music, it’s clear that I’m having a better, more intense experience than most other people. Music moves me to tears often, sometimes several times a week. It’s wonderful to experience the world this way. But the only way for me to tolerate an open office would be to drug myself. This, to me, is dystopian.

This high sensitivity is why I’m able to solve problems that many others can’t. If I can focus that high sensitivity on the problem space, and I’m given a few days to process all the information, then I’m often able to untangle messes and solve problems that many others find intractable.

But corporations expect that we all conform to some standard of what’s expected of a “normal” human. By doing this, we’re not getting the best out of the human race. We’re actively disabling people that could be doing valuable work. It’s absurd.

That's why open office plans suck. The fact that software developers (assuming you are one, apologies if you are not) are idiots in not engaging in collective bargaining association (don't call it a union, lol). The "technology" exists to create private offices for everyone (and sufficient conference rooms while we're at it) so that working on site isn't terrible because you have your own private office with a door that keeps people and sound out when you're trying to get deep work done, regardless of your autism or adhd or other mental illness status.