de Office space is a major expense for most businesses (and a major waste for some), so choosing the right real estate to lease is crucial. The key factor is office size: too much space means wasted money, while too little is restrictive or forces you to relocate soon after settling in.
Fortunately, estimating the square footage you’ll need is fairly straightforward. All it takes is making a few quick calculations based on your current business size and typical office standards so you can plan effectively.
This guide will help you estimate how much space you need per employee, whether you have open spaces, cubicles, coworking stations or a mix of these ⬇️
Why Planning Office Size Is Important
Planning office size is essential for several reasons:
Boost productivity — Offices that match how people work — whether focusing alone, collaborating in teams, or socializing — improve productivity. As you align office space with employees’ work styles, it helps tasks get done efficiently and encourages creativity.
Cut costs — Smart space planning optimizes commercial real estate use. By using data on how space is used and listening to employee feedback, companies are able to avoid wasted space, reduce rental and maintenance expenses.
Data for analyzing the office can be taken from special software. The system can be used to see how efficiently office space is used in the company and to make adjustments if necessary.
Enhance culture and connections — Office layout plays a big role in shaping corporate culture. For example, amenities like coffee stations or comfortable seating create informal meeting spots and encourage employees to connect on a personal level.
Recommended Area Per Employee for Different Office Types
When determining the ideal office space, factors like the number of employees, the type of work they need to do, growth projections and how the office is laid out, all play significant roles. For now, let’s focus on arguably the most distinguishing factor: how the office is laid out.
Open Office Spaces
Here are the recommended average office space allocations for open setups ⬇️
High density: About 70 sq.ft (6.5 sq.m) per employee is average. This layout suits fast-paced environments or startups needing to accommodate their teams productively.
Standard office density: Approximately 100 sq.ft (9.3 sq.m) per employee. This office space size provides more room for comfort and collaboration, so it’s ideal for businesses that can spend a little more on a cohesive and productive workplace culture.
Traditional Office Spaces (With Cubicles)
Consider that not all employees will use the same amount of space. Private offices take up more room, so the average office size will be bigger and open cubicles need less.
Here are the allocations for traditional office setups ⬇️
Cubicles: Between 60 to 110 sq.ft (5.6 to 9.3 sq.m) per person. This range should suit different workspace needs, from compact setups to those needing more space for movement and customization.
Enclosed offices:
- Small private office — requires 90 to 150 sq.ft (8.4 to 14 sq.m) per person.
- Medium private or shared office — from 150 to 250 sq.ft (14 to 23.2 sq.m) per person.
- Large private or shared office. Needs between 200 to 400 sq.ft (18.6 to 37.2 sq.m) per person to provide much more space for individual work or collaborative activities.
Flexible Offices and Coworking Spaces
In flexible offices and coworking spaces, the typical office space size ranges from 125 to 225 sq.ft (11.6 to 20.9 sq.m) per person, averaging around 175 sq.ft (around 16.3 sq.m).
Although the square footage per employee is standard, the number of seats needed depends on employees’ schedules. Because not everyone is in the office simultaneously, you can minimize the costs by adjusting seat allocation based on scheduled office days.
Scheduling works especially effectively for hybrid teams. With it, employees and managers manage their schedules more effectively, which has a positive effect on their productivity.
Calculating the Optimal Office Area Per Employee
The BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) uses either 175 usable sq.ft per employee (16.3 sq.m) or the maximum allowed by GSA (General Services Administration) or OMB (Office of Management and Budget) standards. These guidelines need to be in place to maintain a minimum building utilization rate of 60%, i.e., an efficient use of office space.
So, let’s calculate how much space you need based on having 100 employees totally but only needing space for 70 employees who are in the office at maximum utilization ⬇️
70 employees × 175 sq.ft/employee (16.3 sq.m/employee) = 12,250 sq.ft (1,141 sq.m)
When planning the office environment, you also need to ensure compliance with standards for HVAC systems, flooring, windows, acoustics and lighting as per regulations like the FMR, OSHA and LEED Silver or higher standards from the Green Building Council (or equivalent regulations and standards in your country).
For example, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires that employees are able to enter and exit their workspace easily and safely. A good practice is to keep at least three feet of space between desks for emergency needs.
Managing Too Much or Too Little Office Space
If you could plan the footage and layout from scratch now, you would probably design it better. However, most of us are working with existing setups where the office size is either too spacious or cramped. Let’s explore a few quick fixes ⬇️
How to Manage Excess Space
If you have too much space, that’s actually great because it opens up opportunities for creative and dynamic use. Here are a few ways to make excess space work perfectly for you:
Create employee amenities: recreation, sports and expanded food areas. For instance, transform unused space into a game room or set up a gym to promote wellness among employees.
Allocate space for events: corporate, exhibitions, presentations. It can be a meeting room with advanced AV equipment, an area to showcase products or achievements, etc.
Conduct training and lectures. This will help employees learn practical skills or industry updates.
Rent out to other businesses. This way, you’ll offset expenses wasted on excess space.
Create flexible workplaces. Create flexible rooms that can serve multiple purposes, such as meeting rooms during the day and event spaces in the evenings.
How to Manage Limited Space
Now, with limited space, there’s a bit more compromise in how offices are configured and utilized:
Optimize layout. For example, consider removing unnecessary partitions and combining common areas to open up the space.
Divide space into multifunctional areas. Here, a meeting room can double as a collaborative workspace or a presentation area.
Use technology to monitor and manage occupancy. Use job reservation systems and occupancy sensors to make sure areas are not underutilized or overcrowded.
Encourage remote work. Provide employees with the tools and support they need to work effectively from home or other locations.
Buy transformable furniture. Examples include modular desks, collapsible tables and movable partitions that adapt to different office setups.
Introduce compact storage systems. It can be sliding cabinets, vertical shelving, or under-desk storage units.
Emphasize flexible offices as a universal solution. It accomplishes a lot of tasks, such as accommodating diverse work styles, optimizing resource use and supporting adaptation to changing business needs.
Successful Company Examples and Their Average
The Novo Nordisk office space in Santiago is on the smaller side, although the exact number of employees at this location is not known. It covers 9,149 sq.ft (850 sq.m) within a modern building in Santiago, Chile, where the layout features open work areas. Manager offices are positioned around the perimeter, with central communal spaces like a boardroom, training areas and a nearby gourmet inn.
The expansion of Airbnb’s second office space now provides more than 150,000 sq.ft (13,935 sq.m) of office space and accommodates around 1,000 employees. The average office space here is 150 sq.ft (139 sq.m) per employee, which is also on the compact to medium-sized side.
As for a larger office size, LinkedIn’s office in Sunnyvale, California, serves around 1,200 employees and each employee enjoys approximately 240 sq.ft (22.3 sq.m) of space. It's evident that they wanted to splurge on space — the ground floors feature expansive common areas like a 500-seat café and a 3,000-square-foot (278.7 sq.m) fitness facility.
Notably, with an impressive 454 sq.ft (42.2 sq.m) per employee, Corus Entertainment’s office space at Corus Quay in Toronto offers 500,000 sq.ft (46,452 sq.m) for its 1,100 staff members. The building features a five-story atrium complete with a three-story slide, along with a large lounge area, a vertical garden and multiple TV studios.
Whether you opt for smaller or larger office space depends on you and your needs. But remember, whatever size you choose, the schedule in which employees work in this space will make or break its effectiveness.
Table of employee space requirements for different types of offices
To make it easier to find the right space for an office of your format, we have compiled a table with the space per employee ⬇️
