The figure of 11 cubic meters per person is a minimum and may be insufficient if, for example, a large part of the room is occupied by furniture, etc. The total volume of the room, when empty, divided by the number of people who normally work in it must be at least 11 cubic meters. When doing this calculation, a room or part of a room that is more than 3.0 m in height must be counted as 3.0 m in height. If you have between one and 10 employees, you'll need a small serviced office with around 100 to 1000 square feet of space.
Serviced offices include everything you need in the price, such as furniture, broadband, public services and access to common rest and kitchen areas. They're also available with flexible offerings, so you can go somewhere else or move to a larger (or smaller) office in the same building when your needs change. Below are examples of office spaces that would be perfect for small businesses. According to regulation 10 of the 1992 labor regulations of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 11 cubic meters is the absolute minimum amount of space needed per person in an office. In a room with a ceiling of 2.4 meters in height, that means that an area of at least 4.62 square meters is required per person.
In a typical office with a standard ceiling height of 2.4 m, that equates to about 4.6 square meters per person (about 50 square feet). However, this is a minimum requirement for complying with safety laws, not a recommendation for comfort or productivity. What style of office space works best? The 100-square-foot-per-person rule works best for open-plan offices, which have become much more popular over the past decade. The fact that everyone is seated close to each other can encourage innovation and efficiency. Open-plan workspaces can also reduce costs by sharing resources such as printers, photocopiers, and even lighting.
However, this is not suitable for all types of companies. If you want to encourage a more isolated work style, with cubicles and workstations, consider allowing up to 200 square feet per person. Of course, you can also choose a combination of both worlds. Collaborative spaces: more meeting rooms and common workplaces Social and wellness areas: living rooms, quiet areas and spaces for small groups Intelligent office technology: booking systems based on artificial intelligence, workplace analysis and hybrid meeting configurations.
Hybrid working has led some companies to optimize space more efficiently, but instead of reducing its size significantly, many are reallocating space to collaborative areas and flexible work areas. This will provide you with a solid foundation on which to base your space needs and will help you identify which property and type of office space are best for the type of work that you do. An office space with The Boutique Workplace Company is the perfect choice if you're looking for a beautiful, highly functional space to grow your business. Some employees may benefit from open spaces that allow for easy collaboration and communication between team members, while others may need more private spaces for meetings and phone calls.
For companies that need more collaborative space for creative sessions and knowledge sharing, it is recommended to allocate a little more space per person. Companies that occupy more space than they need can sublet the additional space and charge the rent to another company that occupies the space on a short-term lease basis. For example, you may need space for a reception or waiting rooms, common areas such as kitchens or break rooms, storage rooms, meeting facilities, bathrooms, and additional space to accommodate employees with disabilities. Focusing on flexible, multipurpose environments now means that office space requirements must go beyond square meters and, instead, prioritize how the workspace can adapt over time, provide reliable spaces away from desks, and foster a sense of belonging among employees.
Coworking spaces typically occupy between 100 and 125 square feet per person, while legal and financial firms need 200 to 500 square feet for private offices and client spaces. This is particularly notable in the case of office spaces and, as a result, quality spaces are in high demand and demand high rental rates. At the same time, office space per employee has declined 9% from pre-pandemic levels, reflecting a move toward more efficient use of space. While official office space planning guidelines are useful, if you have 50 employees and, realistically, only 60 or 70% of the team uses your office regularly, your space requirements will be very different from those of a company with full-time employment.
