I think workers have to push for killing off the open office by bringing it up as a health and safety concern while COVID-19 is still at the forefront everyone's consciousness. There will never be a better opportunity; bring it up as a question at corporate/divisional meetings and provide feedback wherever reasonably possible.

It doesn't sound like ours is going away, but I did recently find out they're removing half the docks so people can spread out more and planning on funding WFH setups for off-days (which will increase to handle the reduced seats).

I wouldn't hope. According to the 2nd law things are moving only in one direction - from-bad-to-worse. When it comes to post-lockdown offices what so far i've seen discussed is adding some transparent mini-walls between desks - kind of smallish transparent mini-cubicles. Like everybody being inside a small personal aquarium so to say. Thus you'd have the worst hybrid of open office and cubicles.

Why transparency? Sounds more expensive and needing more cleaning to not look ugly.

Just put up normal dividers, which exist in many many forms already.

Beside butts-in-the seat visibility, the other main achievement of open office - the high density - coupled with opaque walls would make for claustrophobic work stations (think voting booths) while transparent walls would allow to increase the density even more. Historically such density increases have been taking a decade or two. Thanks to corona we're going to jump straight into it.

Transparent dividers have the benefit of showing just how much they are working, as the saliva, mucus, and food particles accumulate.

We're getting rid of it where I work.

I would like to know how that came to happen.