Fortune August 24, 2023
Lifestyle
More than one-third of desks in offices around the globe are unoccupied all week, according to a new report, raising questions about how well workplaces are currently designed as companies struggle to get employees back into them.
The report, from Australian workplace sensor provider XY Sense, found that 36% of so-called work points — cubicles and desks — are never occupied, “indicating a general oversupply.” Of those that are used, 29% were for three hours or less on a given day. Just 14% were occupied for five or more hours, according to the study that tracked 24,855 unique work areas in nine regions including the US, UK, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Among the spaces used the most are meeting rooms for two or three people, which are 90% full on average. Overall, office utilization is stuck at about 50% of pre-pandemic levels.
The findings illustrate the challenges faced by organizations as they assess office space needs. Workers and managers both say they should be on-site at least one-third of the time, according to research from Boston Consulting Group, but much of that in-person time is no longer spent tethered to a desk.
Spaces for small, private huddles, more open collaboration, and sound-proof enclosures for individual head-down work are all more relevant today compared with old-fashioned cubicles. Yet 80% of total floor space is taken up by individual workstations, with just 20% left for collaboration, XY Sense found.
“It’s time to rethink the humble desk,” said Alex Birch, co-founder and chief executive officer of XY Sense. “They dominate space in our offices, they’re expensive and we’re just not using them the way we were pre-pandemic. Companies just need less of them now that people do the majority of their focus work at home. Companies should either re-deploy that desk space for better workplace experiences or pocket the savings, but they can’t ignore the waste that’s going on.”
Other data support the shift away from desks. Research from office-furniture maker Haworth found that 85% of employees had their own individual workstations before 2020, yet less than half do now. Following years where companies simply crammed as many employees as they could into static cubicle farms or long rows of workstations, some see the changes wrought by remote work as long overdue.
“For far too long we designed offices as if we’re potted plants,” said Kay Sargent, director of the workplace practice at architecture and design firm HOK. “Are you really inviting people back to the office to have them sit at a desk all day? Or do you want to encourage them to connect, mentor, and innovate?”
The dearth of desk usage could also prompt employers to rethink their real estate needs. More than nine out of ten big organizations reported low office utilization rates in a survey by CBRE, and more than half expect to reduce their real-estate footprints over the next three years. According to XY Sense’s data, office utilization didn’t change much between the first and second quarters of 2023. But about one million US desk workers face mandates to return to offices more often by the end of the year, according to brokerage JLL.
“We need to address the fact that we’ve accidentally created call center environments with the acres of large open workstations that are a feature of most offices these days,” Domino Risch, a principal, and co-leader of the workplace and commercial sector at Architect Hassell, said in the report. “The sea of repetitive banks of open plan workstations that typical knowledge-based organizations have just isn’t fit for purpose anymore.”
Stay up to date on the latest real estate trends.
October 13, 2024
A total of 87,108 residential properties carried foreclosure filings during the third quarter of this year, according to new data from ATTOM.
October 13, 2024
Linda and Jerry Salzman fell in love with Delray Beach, Florida, back in November 2015.
October 12, 2024
In today’s column, I explore the human-to-human psychological phenomenon known as mirroring and reveal that modern-day generative AI can also partake in mirroring beha… Read more
October 12, 2024
Mortgage rates soared in the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey published by Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC).
October 11, 2024
There’s nothing quite like the start of the cozy fall season to make you realize your bedroom needs a refresh.
October 11, 2024
Traveling with kids can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but it also comes with its own set of challenges.
We Guide Homeowners through the complicated process of selling their home using our 4 Phase Selling Process and 3 Prong Marketing Strategy that alleviates their stress and moves them effortlessly to their next destination. Schedule a 15 Minute Complimentary Strategy Session Today