The company I work for rents a large commercial office building that includes an incubator office to accommodate most of the workers.
There are not enough private office spaces for anyone but the upper level workers. Shortly after I was hired, I realized I’d do anything and everything to escape the incubator office set up. An incubator office has a long table with people seated on each side. It was really difficult to be productive in this setting and get my workload completed. The guy next to me was always chatting on the phone in an overly loud voice. The woman across from me kept bumping her feet against mine. Basically every person seated at the table was texting, emailing and making calls. It was a chaotic, unproductive way to do business, but a fantastic motivator. An incubator office rental costs very little to set up and operate. A Lot of people are working in a small space. We had a long table with 6 spots on either side and a dozen laptops. We could generate a lot of work for the limited square footage it required. It was more cramped and restricting than a cubicle though. I was eager to achieve my own office. I want privacy and to be able to stretch my legs without kicking my neighbor. I put in long hours and was as productive as possible in order to get out of that tight space. It took me over eighteen months before I earned a promotion into an actual office. There are not enough of them for everybody. Having an office is a whole new world. I love having a door and a window. I appreciate having my own space to work.