New report reveals significant global shift in employees’ use of office spaces

A new report published by HubStar, an industry leader in dynamic workplace solutions, provides a comprehensive view of how employees are now using office spaces across more than 300 million square feet of buildings in 13 major countries.

The report ‘Hybrid Occupancy Index 2025-2026 ‘ aims to help workplace leaders, real estate strategists and HR teams understand how employee behaviours are evolving – and what that means for space planning, workplace strategy, and design in 2026.

As well as closely examining workplace trends in major cities like London, Toronto, New York City, Chicago, Stockholm and Amsterdam, the detailed report provides several key global takeaways.

1. Occupancy Peaks on Tuesdays
The report found that Tuesdays tend to have the highest occupancy of any weekday (peaking at 59 per cent occupancy globally). This points to a growing need to spread office attendance more evenly across the week rather than levying three-day mandates. The report observes: “With 40-50 per cent vacancy rates, the issue isn’t space shortage but poor distribution… Organisations can look to more varied anchor days by team or add incentives and events to flatten the peak in-office day.”

2. Meeting room mix no longer matches new usage patterns
The report found there are now fewer large in-person meetings (with 80 per cent of meetings in rooms for six or fewer people) – yet large boardrooms with 17+ capacity are only 12 per cent full on average. This suggests oversized boardrooms should be converted into multiple small meeting spaces or flex-size rooms to match actual collaboration patterns.

3. Solo work is wasting meeting room capacity for collaboration
The report found employees tend to use small meeting areas for individual calls or solo work, often resulting in two-person meeting rooms operating at just 43 per cent capacity. This underscores a growing need for more purpose-built solo spaces (such as dedicated ‘Zoom rooms’ and quiet work pods) to free up collaboration spaces for actual meetings.

4. Informal spaces are the new workplace magnets
HubStar’s Hybrid Occupancy Index found employees now tend to gravitate to spaces that blend hospitality with productivity, where work feels more natural and unstructured. This suggests organisations should consider investing in expanding collaboration areas designed for informal work and connection.

5. Subtle shift from open plan to semi-private, distraction-free zones
While 78 per cent of desks remain open plan, the report identified a gradual increase in the use of cubicle-style spaces. This shift suggests a growing demand for more hybrid desk configurations that provide the right space mix for balancing distraction-free individual work with open collaboration, focus work, hybrid meetings, and casual conversations.

Steve Vatidis, HubStar’s Executive Chairman, said: “By comparing trends and usage patterns across space types like meeting rooms and collaborative areas, we have identified where people gravitate to, what is changing, and where the greatest opportunities for improvement lie.”

He added: “With more organisations looking to develop or re-evaluate their hybrid work strategy, reshape their real estate footprint, or enhance their employee experience, this report highlights actionable insights on key dynamics such as occupancy, utilisation, and workspace preferences.”
 
A free copy of HubStar’s Hybrid Occupancy Index 2025-2026 can be obtained here.