The home office has become a sanctuary for productivity as many people continue to work from the place where they live, but with COVID vaccinations ramping up and industries eyeing a return to normalcy, our once standard view of offices could revert back to a phase that peaked in the 1980s and 90s.

We're talking cubicles.

At one point, seeing office spaces with seemingly endless rows of tight-knit working quarters was typical. That is until the open concept came along and transformed working spaces into what many of us know today. The open office concept gained so much popularity that by 2010, 68 percent of offices had adopted the style.

Open Floor Office Concept Emerges

The cubicle, or other types of enclosed spaces, have been noted in history numerous times dating back to medieval monks who used scriptoriums to draft manuscripts].

In the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution saw companies growing quickly, forcing businesses to seek out larger, affordable offices that could accommodate their expanding workforce.

The open floor concept went mainstream in the 1920s after business owners modeled offices after factory floors, complete with open rows of bustling workers and an office manager watching at the helm.

It wasn't until the late 1950s that the traditional office would be reimagined when inventor Robert Propst submitted plans to furniture company Herman Miller Inc.

Propst studied the work environment and based on his assessment, crafted a design that he concluded would boost productivity and office morale by encouraging collaboration among workers. In partnership with designer George Nelson, the two set out to create the Action Office. The design offered an array of rearrangeable office furniture including both a sitting and standing desk and a small coffee table.