Guardian on open plan

From todays Guardian, mention of a study that condemns open plan offices:

A study by the Asia-Pacific Journal of Health Management has concluded that the effect of open-plan offices on workers' physical and mental health is "shocking". Employees get flu, suffer stress, resign, pull sickies, mess around with their colleagues and - most winningly - exhibit primeval ape-like territorial anxiety by surrounding their desks with lucky gonks, teddy bears and pictures of their horrible jam-faced tots.

It certainly matches with my experience. Some of my less-than-immediate colleagues have so much junk on their desks it's untrue: ropes, cables, vast quantities of out of date manuals, even a 5' high helium cylinder. And me? I keep my desk immaculately clear, feeling no need to assert territoriality over the tedium of meat-space...