How do you calculate office space?

Before hunting for the ideal office location, you must know how much space is enough for your current team. Not only should you consider the practical aspect of comfort and efficiency, but legal requirements and cost implications are the other factors to keep in mind. Here’s why office space calculation matters:

Proper office space planning helps reduce real estate costs

There is a strong correlation between the office space size and the real estate costs. The goal is to ensure that every square foot is utilised well by balancing the workstations with the open areas and meeting rooms. With hybrid layouts, for instance, you can minimise the need for excess desks, which helps lower the required office size. Additionally, planning the office space to factor in natural light and optimal furniture placement can help improve energy efficiency, which translates to long-term savings on operational costs.

Having the right amount of space ensures employee productivity

An ideal office space ensures focused work and collaboration. If you calculate correctly, you will avoid tight workstations often associated with stress and discomfort. The office space should feature pathways for easy movement and access to wellness zones, which helps employees recharge, boosting overall performance and morale.

Office layouts directly influence work efficiency

Strategic office layouts focus on efficient task flow and collaboration. This can be achieved with open-plan layouts and quiet zones, allowing employees to switch between collaborative tasks and deep work. Proper layouts help minimise excessive movement across floors when accessing shared resources like printers or break areas. Another design aspect is strategically placing the meeting rooms far from the workstations to avoid disrupting other employees while working.

Space planning prevents overcrowding or underuse

The other benefit of knowing your office space requirement is that you can adapt the layout to your workspace needs. If your business is on a hybrid work schedule, you can optimise the employee-to-desk ratio by avoiding unused areas while ensuring space availability during peak times.

Incorporating flexible spaces into your layout ensures you have areas that can double as areas for events, meetings, or individual work. This can be tricky to pull off, but you may consider using modular furniture to make it easy to adjust layouts based on changing needs.

When calculating the required office space, there are three main metrics to focus on. These include:

Occupancy rates

Occupancy rate refers to the proportion of office space that is actively used compared to the total available. It is calculated by dividing the number of occupied rooms or desks by the total number of spaces, multiplied by 100%.

Accurately tracking this metric will help you avoid the cost of underutilised spaces. Hybrid work models, however, complicate the calculation, as employees may only occupy desks part-time. Occupancy rates will also differ based on the type of space. For example, meeting rooms may have lower occupancy rates than individual workstations but serve different purposes.

Monitoring occupancy rates can help you make informed decisions, such as downsizing office space to cut costs or repurposing underutilised areas to enhance employee experience. Efficient space management ensures the workspace aligns with workforce needs and your unique business goals.

Workspace utilisation rates

Workspace utilisation measures how effectively the office desks or workstations are used daily. It is calculated by dividing the average number of people present by the total number of available workspaces.

If your office has 100 desks and 70 employees use them regularly, the utilisation rate is 70%. You can monitor this metric regularly to ensure your workstations match the demand. The goal is to avoid excess desks or cramped layouts. It is particularly valuable for office planning in hybrid work environments, where some desks may go unused on specific days.

Room usage rates

Room usage rates track how often a space, such as a meeting room, is used compared to how often it is empty. High room and low individual workstation usage often indicate that employees prefer in-office collaboration instead of focused work. Room usage metrics help businesses adjust layouts. For example, you can increase collaborative areas and minimise unnecessary desk spaces, ensuring that the office serves evolving work patterns.

Having read this far, you now know how to choose a suitable office space, including the key metrics to prioritise. But how do you calculate office space per person to ensure accuracy when relocating to a new office? Below is a step-by-step guide for your convenience:

• Determine the basic space requirements: Allocate 100-150 sq. feet per employee for open-plan offices. This range accounts for desk space and walkways to avoid overcrowding. You can also use metric measurements, i.e., office space per person in m2, UK standards.
• Factor in common areas: Include 25% additional space for shared areas, such as meeting rooms, break rooms and lounges. If your employee workspace totals 500 sq. metres, you will need 125 sq. metres for common areas, resulting in 625 sq. meters overall.
• Include a buffer for future growth: Allocate an additional 20% to accommodate future hires or layout changes without disruption. This foresight is not mandatory, but it helps avoid frequent relocations.
• Use an office space calculator for accuracy: A faster way to estimate how much space you need is to use an office space calculator tool. All you need to do is input the employee count and room requirements to generate precise estimates. It is worth noting that different office space calculator tools may give varying results, depending on the space per employee figure used.

• Allocate 100-150 sq. feet per employee for open-plan offices.
• Include 25% extra space for common areas like meeting rooms.
• Track occupancy and utilisation rates to avoid underutilisation.
• Use space calculators to simplify estimations and accommodate future growth.

Related topics: Make the movement easier with our office moving checklist