The latest Occupancy Intelligence Index reveals striking new trends in how employees are using office space in 2024 compared to previous years. For the first time, employees are choosing to spend more time in collaborative spaces than at their desk. When you consider that in a lot of hybrid organisations, desks are left empty for a large part of the week, the fact that the desk are also going unused on in-office days highlights a growing inefficiency in hybrid workplaces.
Here, we’ll explore one of the hidden disadvantages of hybrid working; how empty desks are harming your bottom line, and what actions you can take to reclaim lost efficiency in your workplace.
1. The Hidden Disadvantage of Hybrid Working
Desks and meeting rooms that remain empty but occupy expensive real estate can quickly become financial liabilities. Even if your office is only partially occupied, you’re likely paying full maintenance costs for the space. Services like cleaning and heating apply across the entire building, regardless of how many desks are actually in use.
According to the Lambert Smith Hampton Total Office Cost Survey 2023, in cities like Belfast, just 10 underutilized desks would cost your business £70,540 per year. In larger cities like London, this increases to an astonishing £217,000 per year.
To put that into context, a London based company with a floor of 150 desks that are only occupied two out of five days per week, are paying nearly £2 million per year for unused space!
Add to this the Occupancy Intelligence data that shows that passive desk usage (time when your personal items are at your desk, but you are somewhere else) now accounts for up to 33% of total in-office desk time. The true impact of underutilized desk time has substantial financial implications for all hybrid work organizations.
This particular disadvantage to hybrid working is significant for facility managers, where space optimization is a key objective and where hidden costs cannot be ignored.
2. Why Desks Are Left Empty: The Changing Nature of Hybrid Workspaces
Hybrid work models have disrupted traditional office layouts. Employees now spend more time in collaboration rooms than at their individual desks.
Data captured over the first 6 months of 2024 show that employee behaviour has changed from 2023. On the days employees are in the office, the data shows that they are favouring collaborative spaces over individual desks and this trend is expected to continue. Collaboration Rooms (21.1%), Conference Rooms (21.7%), and Open Collaboration Spaces (14.4%) now each have a higher active time usage than desks.
The shift in preference from desk based work to collaboration based work is leaving traditional desk setups underused.
3. The Passive Usage Problem: Wasting Resources Goes Unnoticed
Desks that sit passively—occupied by personal items but rarely used by employees—are misleading when it comes to tracking space utilization. This can cause companies to miscalculate their office needs, leading to inflated operational costs.
When desks remain empty but technically “occupied,” companies pay for space they don’t actually need, leading to inflated operational costs. In comparison, collaboration rooms now account for 86.6% of active office time, suggesting an opportunity to dramatically improve space optimization if office spaces were designed and managed to meet the needs of today’s hybrid workers.
4. The Disadvantage of Hybrid Work for Employee Engagement
It’s not just your budget that suffers from empty desks—employee engagement can also take a hit. Hybrid offices with too many unused desks can feel isolating, reducing opportunities for spontaneous collaboration and weakening team morale. By shifting to more dynamic, collaborative environments, you can keep employees more engaged and connected on the days they are in the office.
5. Get Hybrid Working to Your Advantage: 4 Smart Solutions to Reallocate Wasted Space
Optimizing office space doesn’t have to mean expensive renovations. Simple adjustments can make a big difference in how you use your office:
- Add dividers and planters: Privacy concerns may be limiting desk usage. Adding dividers or planters creates semi-private areas for calls or meetings, freeing up formal meeting rooms and encouraging more desk use.
- Convert unused desks into collaboration or hot-desking areas: This flexible solution allows employees to use desks as needed, reducing the total number required.
- Reconfigure meeting rooms: Shrink underused large meeting rooms into more functional collaborative spaces.
- Use technology: Implement workspace management platforms like Ronspot to get insights on how your employees are using your workspace, equip managers with data to optimize office space effectively and empower employees to book the type of space they need and want.
6. How to Solves Desk and Space Underutilization
Desk booking systems and meeting room booking tools are designed to tackle the unique challenges of hybrid working. With flexible scheduling, they allow departments to share desk on different days, ensuring that desks are always in use.
Best in class booking system offer key features like auto-release, which automatically frees up any desks or meeting rooms that haven’t been checked into, solving the issue of ghosted bookings. This ensures that all available spaces are being fully utilized, giving employees flexibility while maximizing office efficiency.
Additionally, analytics dashboard offer real-time insights into how spaces are used, enabling workplace managers to make informed decisions about redesigning workspaces in line with shifting, helping to optimize the space and driving significant cost savings.
A workplace management system like Ronspot, provides all of the above key features and more to help you maximize your space and create the type of hybrid workplace experience that you employees truly want.
If you are ready to evaluate your office space usage and see how desk booking systems can help you to maximize your office space, start your free Ronspot trial today.
