Office density—defined as the average number of workers per square foot of office space—will likely increase post-Covid as employers dedicate more space to collaboration, community, huddle rooms, and employee amenities. 

A new report from Cushman & Wakefield shows that pre-pandemic, the average square feet per worker was about 193 square feet, with a typical range of 150 to 250 square feet. The amount varied significantly, C&W notes, depending on geographic location and industry. But as the country climbs back from the pandemic and employers adopt more flex work and work-from-home strategies, the metric of square feet per worker will likely become less important.

"Post-pandemic, many companies will be reconfiguring the balance of office, with a decreased emphasis on individual workstations and an increased priority on flexible communal space," the report notes. "In many cases, the square footage per employee will remain the same or shrink slightly as an increasingly agile workforce takes advantage of multiple work locations in a given week (e.g., core office, home office, third place, etc.)."