Why Office Density May No Longer Matter Post-COVID

Office density—defined as the average square feet per worker—will likely increase post-COVID as employers dedicate more space to collaboration, community, huddle rooms, and employee amenities. 

A new report from Cushman & Wakefield shows that pre-pandemic, the square feet per worker was about 193 square feet, with a typical range of 150 to 250 square feet. The amount varied significantly, C&W notes, depending on geographic location and industry. 

But as the country climbs back from the pandemic and employers adopt more flex work and WFH strategies, the metric of square feet per worker will likely be less important.

“Post-pandemic, many companies will be reconfiguring the balance of office, with a decreased emphasis on individual workstations and an increased priority for flexible communal space,” the report notes. “In many cases, the square footage per employee will remain the same or shrink slightly as an increasingly agile workforce takes advantage of multiple work locations in a given week (e.g., core office, home office, third place, etc.).” 

Complicating the issue is that demand for flex space is also expected to pick up this year: a recent JLL survey of 2,000 office workers showed that two-thirds want to work from different locations post-COVID, and office owners are responding by “actively increasing” the space in their buildings devoted to flex work.

“This is more meaningful than a shifting of deckchairs,” says Ben Munn, managing director of flex space at JLL, in the report. “Companies and investors are taking a different view on flex space entirely and are willing to invest because they see this as a bigger proportion of the overall office market than it is currently.”

Munn predicts the sector will return to growth in the second half of 2021, as investors move capital into assets with large amounts of flex space.