Interpreter Sam

Sam turned a corner on the way back to his office from a meeting and saw three of his fellow geoscientists talking in the hallway. They were Zach and Carol, two interpreters who were in their first assignments after completing the company's new-hire training program, and Kevin, a geologist who was approaching his 10th anniversary with the company. As he remembers the conversation, he wonders whether it ever could have taken place in an open office plan, where there are fewer corners and doorways in which conversations can spontaneously arise. He's not sure if this loss of interpersonal habitat is a good thing or a bad thing, but who can say?