According to Office Finder, it's best to leave approximately 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. During the pandemic, JLL reported that the average amount of space per employee was 196 square feet. Today, workplace design studies have concluded that the average office space per employee is 150 to 175 square feet.
This includes dedicated desk space and surrounding space, and you should also consider the amount of space in meeting rooms and common areas. 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.
Office spaces generally range from 120 to 350 square feet per person employed. During the initial planning process, assume that you will need approximately 250 square feet per person. You can refine this number by reducing your selections and distributing your space. While this calculator will provide you with an estimate of the amount of space your new office needs, it is based on industry standards and is not intended to act as a definitive assessment.
Forward-thinking and flexibility are crucial when deciding the amount of office space per person and the type of environment you want to create. Flexibility and a vision of the future are essential when determining how much office space you need per person and the type of environment you are building. As a result of the increase in the number of employees working remotely, a third of executives said they expected to need less office space in the coming years. We help them plan the space they need now and anticipate their space needs for the future based on their projected growth. As a general rule, the denser the office space, the higher the percentage of total office space that should be allocated to common areas.
If you're starting a business or are planning to rent or buy office space, you're probably concerned about the amount of space you need. Very dense office spaces often have workbenches, as shown above, as well as large common areas for collaboration, recreation, and more. Let's say you currently employ 10 people and estimate that you'll need approximately 2,500 square feet of office space. The advantage of smaller spaces is that they can also be used as private offices or quiet rooms, as needed.
We found that office space calculators are the best way to measure this so you can plot the entire office more visually and not just calculate the number per person. Denser offices often have large collaboration spaces for employees to work together, exchange ideas, and relax. If you don't plan for future growth, you may run out of space after hiring new employees, and moving offices can be expensive.