Open offices have, quite simply, left themselves open to criticism. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. companies have collaborative work spaces, but they come at cost: The BBC reported in January 2017 that studies show workers are 15 percent less productive in such places. Moreover, a University of Sydney study determined that half the people working in open offices were dissatisfied with their sound privacy, and other studies have shown over half the rank and file felt less satisfied and less productive under such arrangements. The results were similar when such workers were asked if they needed more privacy for problem-solving, of if they found their environments too distracting. The solution to this problem is multi-faceted.