How much space

Different companies assess the space requirements in different ways. Indeed one company may calculate how much space it needs differently in each location it occupies as very few have a written space standard. In practice the limitations of a property and the internal pressures for occupancy rates will largely determine how much space can be allocated to each workstation.

Of course the more workstations that can be fitted into a area, the better the return on the property costs will be. If in addition to this a higher ratio of workers to space can be achieved (through hot desking or a desk sharing system) then the total costs of occupying property can be reduced.

Care needs to be taken not to stuff workers into space or to change working habits too dramatically. Property costs are the second greatest cost for a business, second only to human costs (in the form of wages, training etc) and as up to 45% of staff report that they would change jobs for an improved working environment changes should have a positive impact on environment even if it improves space and cost ratios.