The space you need per person in an office will often depend on your functions. That said, experts usually recommend between 75 and 150 square feet per person, although a maximum of 325 square feet is reasonable. The average office size in North America is currently 150 to 175 square feet per employee. Open office spaces for technology companies often use even less, 125 to 175 square feet per person.
International offices become even more efficient with around 100 square feet per person. According to Office Finder, it's best to leave about 175 square feet of space for each person who works in your office. Leaders and executives typically need between 200 and 400 square feet. Open office workstations only require about 100 square feet per person. Future vision and flexibility are crucial when deciding how much office space per person and the type of environment you want to create.
Let's discuss square footage, conference room sizes, desk space needs, and general office space standards for your teams. We found that office space calculators are the best way to measure it, so you can plot the entire office more visually and not just calculate the number per person. Flexibility and a vision of the future are essential in determining how much office space is needed per person and the type of environment being built. In this section, we'll explain how much space you should plan to dedicate to common areas and conference rooms, and we'll provide estimates of how much square footage you'll need for each element of the office.
While there isn't one number that works for every company, most industries offer at least 150 to 300 square feet of space per employee, including workspaces and shared spaces. In addition to the industry, other factors affecting the amount of office space needed per employee are density, geographic location, age of employees, and cost per square foot. The general rule is to allow between 125 and 225 usable square feet of office space per person. The average office space per employee was up to 325 square feet in the early 21st century, but it has shrunk to about 160 square feet in recent years. The average office space requires a handful of meeting spaces so that employees can take customer calls or meet in person to collaborate with their teams.
The average North American employee needs 150 to 175 square feet of office space to work comfortably and productively.
