How many workstations does your organisation actually need?
Three inputs, one defensible desk ratio and space mix — based on work patterns, not headcount.
What share of peak-day demand do you want to serve? 100% = always a seat; 80% = deliberate scarcity.
A lower ratio forces home-working on peak days; a higher ratio builds in unused floor area. The call belongs at board level — not as a capacity calculation.
Which ratio fits your culture, policy and growth?
A ratio is a strategic choice, not a formula. Discuss the implications in a confidential strategy session.
The Hybrid Sizing Calculator translates FTE, hybrid working pattern and required buffer into a defensible desk ratio and space mix. Designed to unstick board conversations that otherwise stall on anecdotal occupancy data.
The model in one sentence
Required desks ≈ FTE × average attendance factor × peak factor × policy buffer. Around that, the tool calculates a space mix (focus, collaboration, meeting, support) tested against occupancy patterns from comparable organisations.
A peak factor below 1.15 leads structurally to underuse; above 1.35 it produces unnecessary m² and unmanageable monthly cost. The optimum differs by sector and by hybrid policy.
The most sensitive variable
In practice the attendance factor is the most underestimated variable. Many organisations base it on policy (e.g. '3 days per week in office') rather than observed behaviour. The gap is often 15–25 percent — with direct consequences for the m² that can be defended strategically.
For organisations without reliable occupancy data, we recommend 8–12 weeks of measurement before locking the programme of requirements. Otherwise dimensioning rests on an assumption, not a fact.
What the tool does not do
The tool says nothing about the qualitative make-up of workspaces, the open/enclosed mix for specific teams, or the impact of technology and acoustics. Those are design questions for a later stage.
What it does is move the m²-volume conversation from gut feel to argumentation. After that, the real work can start.
Want an independent party to challenge your ratios and occupancy patterns? That is a typical opener for a strategy session.
Book strategy session →Before the first decision is made.
A strategy session is the moment to clarify your context and the strategic choices around your workspace investment — before design and construction set the direction.