The correct amount of face time - both out of necessity and out of comfort - is a difficult problem. I worked for a while in a "Facebook style" office, where we were pair programming. No walls, no privacy, all of our desks faced forward except the lead, who faced us, like a schoolteacher. I found it extremely uncomfortable. And I'm a people person!
On the other hand, zero face time is problematic in other ways. Even 37signals has an all-employee get-together a couple of times a year (read back through svn, they describe this).
I've seen this about all-employee get-together too. But when only a couple of times a year it seems purely social, not for getting actual work done. For me, the in-person collaboration takes place pretty much every day.
On the other hand, zero face time is problematic in other ways. Even 37signals has an all-employee get-together a couple of times a year (read back through svn, they describe this).