Office Occupiers Plan To Dramatically Shrink Footprints Even As Attendance Mandates Rise

The ongoing push to bring workers back to the office isn`t preventing companies from shrinking the size of those workplaces.

A new survey from Boston-based workplace strategy firm Robin found that while the vast majority of companies are mandating worker attendance, nearly as many firms are shrinking their office footprints, with further downsizing planned for 2024.

Robin surveyed 500 business owners and facilities managers and found that the number of employers mandating some amount of office attendance jumped 20% from 2022 to 88%. But even as executives push to get employees to show up, 80% of companies have downsized their office footprints since the pandemic, and a further 75% of business owners plan to reduce their square footage next year.

Of those who reported plans to downsize, 69% said they would reduce their space by 50% or more, while 31% are planning reductions of 25% or less...

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RSK: Sometimes it seems that two dynamics are fighting each other. We need less space but we need space for personal phone booths, collaboration on and on....and not to forget the amenities that take up space. Plus, if you read into this, rental rates are rising. So less space at the same cost?..