The Cube is a Lie. Cubicles are amongst the most insidious creations ever, erm, created - and have gotten worse.
A short history of the cube:
Working in the open
Working inside
Working in an office
Office shrinks
Invent cubicles, put people in boxes
Shrink them
Start removing walls
The most uncomfortable layout is the cubical where 1) your boss can see your back and 2) you see a wall. He can stand behind you, watch you work, and you have no idea he's even there. This is fucking retarded. Sure, I check my email 4 times a day - and I swear to Jesus - that every time I do so, my boss shows up... it makes me nervous. And a nervous coder is not a good coder.
So, this common problem has a common solution: mirrors.
The best is a small mirror. I'm a fan of CHIMP. It's kind of obvious, but most bosses won't catch on, and if they do, won't say much about it. It's kind of a dick move to tell your employees "Take that mirror down, because I want to keep sneaking up on you." But what if you can't have a mirror?
Here's what you do (RE: what I did): CDs. Store-bought CDs work best, since they tend to be more mirror-ish - burnable CD's tend to have a colored hugh. BluRay discs are actually glossier, but that's a lot of cash hanging on your wall.
Anyway, there's not a point to this post other than, it's always good to know when people are standing behind you.
Ahh shit! Caught blogging... alt-tab. AAAHHHH.... THAT WAS CAPS LOCK! Tab.... taaaabbb!!!!