Whether it's a big corporate office or a tiny startup, the tone for success is much influenced by the furniture choice. The most crucial office furniture components are cubicles, which mix flexibility ...

Cubicles were the hallmark of a dull, soul-sucking job. Now they seem like paradise lost. In a memorable montage from the 1999 workplace satire "Office Space," Peter Gibbons, a fed-up office drone ...

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Sydney Baker, 27, about her experience working in office cubicles. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

There was another intern who had her own cubicle with high walls that kind of looked like a mini office. I really loved my makeshift workspace, but I'll be honest — I was jealous. It was like I ...