Hybrid work continues to disrupt traditional office design and corporate real estate strategies, with employers shifting away from assigned seating and static layouts toward more flexible, experiential spaces, according to CBRE’s 2024–2025 Global Workplace & Occupancy Insights report.
The report, based on benchmarking data from organizations around the world, details a workplace in flux—where space is no longer simply about square footage, but about experience, collaboration, and the ability to support a distributed workforce.
“The traditional office is obsolete,” the report said. “The shift to hybrid work necessitates a radical redesign of workplace environments, moving away from static layouts and assigned desks toward dynamic, flexible and human-centric spaces.”
Decline in assigned desks
One of the most visible signs of this shift is the decline in assigned desks. In CBRE’s benchmarking, the share of companies using assigned seating dropped from 83% to 55%, while hybrid and desk-sharing models grew from 12% to 36%. The portion of firms using unallocated hoteling or visitor seating nearly doubled, from 5% to 9%.
Companies are also reevaluating how many people should be assigned to each desk. The report found a sharp rise in employee-to-seat ratios since 2021, with 62% of organizations now targeting at least 1.5 people per desk. There was a 93% year-over-year increase in companies setting a target of more than two employees per desk. Yet this trend isn’t uniform across sectors: 43% of companies in the technology, media and telecommunications space still provide one desk per employee, compared to just 10% in financial and professional services.
“This shift is not just about space utilization; it’s a fundamental recalibration of how we work,” the report said. “As we have untethered from the office, the employee-to-seat ratio has risen sharply.”
More collaboration space, less individual work areas
The types of space companies prioritize are changing, too. While the average amount of rentable square footage per employee dropped from 292 to 205, the square footage per seat actually increased slightly. Companies are allocating less to individual work areas and more to spaces that support collaboration and social interaction. Individual space accounted for 51% of layouts in 2021 but fell to 40% by 2024, while shared space rose from 16% to 21%.
“The need for collaborative space continues to evolve,” the report said, though it also noted that 2024 marks the first year since the pandemic that shared space allocation did not increase.
The move toward collaboration is also reflected in the way companies are rethinking private offices. The most common size for an individual office has stabilized at 100 to 149 square feet. Larger private offices, once a staple of corporate leadership, have fallen out of favour—dropping from 16% of office inventory to just 4%. Instead, companies are investing in smaller, tech-enabled meeting rooms and quiet zones that support spontaneous conversations and private work.
“Dated and sterile work environments continue to be replaced with services that transform the workspace into an experience,” the report said. “A curated tapestry of social hubs like restaurants and cafes that seamlessly connect to outdoor spaces, game rooms that spark creativity and flexible multipurpose areas designed for collaboration.”
Wellness rooms, lactation areas
Amenities like wellness rooms, lactation areas, and town hall-style gathering spaces are becoming more common, though they still make up a modest share of the total footprint. Overall amenity space rose from 11% to 17% between 2021 and 2024.
Part of the appeal of these experiential workplaces is their potential to attract and retain talent. CBRE cited Gallup data showing that 66% of employees are not thriving at work, and said well-designed spaces can help organizations boost engagement and build community. “The office is no longer just a place to work; it’s becoming a destination for connection and culture-building,” the report said.
Despite these shifts, many companies still misjudge the nature of their workspaces. According to the report, 71% of organizations believe their offices are focus-based, even though data shows most layouts today are activity- or collaboration-based. This misalignment can hinder productivity and employee satisfaction, CBRE said, and it highlights the need for better understanding of how employees actually use space.
Workplace strategies have evolved year by year. In 2021, companies emphasized quiet, individual workspaces. By 2022, the pendulum swung toward collaboration. In 2023, organizations began striking a balance between focus and teamwork, a trend that continues today. “These trends highlight how workplace design evolves in response to broader societal changes, technological advancements and shifting employee expectations,” the report noted.
Workystyle personas
Increasingly, organizations are designing offices around workstyle personas—employee profiles based on how people work, not just what they do. More than half of companies (56%) now use workstyle and persona data to determine workstation assignments, up from 47% a year earlier. Preferences vary widely: some employees need quiet zones and private meeting rooms, while others want informal, flexible spaces that accommodate spontaneous collaboration. “Understanding these different personas can help improve the employee experience and create a more effective workplace,” CBRE said.
Meanwhile, portfolio strategies are becoming more nuanced. After years of contraction, companies are starting to plan for growth again. In 2024, 52% of organizations reported shrinking their office footprint, down from 62% in 2023. Nearly as many (44%) now expect to expand in the next three years. And while 48% still anticipate further contraction, the gap between expansion and reduction is narrowing. This balance is prompting companies to reconsider where and how they invest in space.
Flexible office space, including co-working, has emerged as a key tool in that strategy. Companies use it to manage uncertainty, accommodate distributed teams, and test new markets. The most common drivers are flexible lease terms (30%), location options (18%) and cost (18%). Adoption varies by sector: tech and financial services firms lead the way, while others remain in the early stages of experimentation. In industrial and logistics, companies are embracing co-working to manage headcount variability and cost control.
CBRE’s report concludes with a call to action for employers: adapt your spaces to reflect new patterns of work. “To thrive in this new era, organizations must embrace change, invest in technology, champion employee well-being and foster a culture of innovation,” the report said.
The future workplace, it adds, is one where “work and life are seamlessly integrated,” where design supports both productivity and community, and where the office becomes “a truly exceptional employee experience.”
