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Robert Propst invented the office cubicle in 1968 as a tool for worker freedom — movable walls that could be configured to individual needs. Instead, companies used his invention to pack workers into smaller spaces. The cautionary tale of an innovation perverted by cost-cutting.
Canon
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Harford traces how office design follows a treadmill: the cubicle was an improvement over the bullpen, open plan was an improvement over cubicles, hot-desking was an improvement over assigned desks. Each 'innovation' became a cost-cutting baseline.
Highlights
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Good inventions perverted by bad incentives — the cubicle was designed for freedom but used for confinement
Propst designed the Action Office as a flexible, humane workspace. Companies saw it as a way to fit more workers per square foot. The inventor's intention was irrelevant once the economic incentives took over.