Start With How Your Team Actually Works
The number of people on your payroll is the starting point for sizing your office, but it is not the whole picture. Before you commit to a space, think carefully about how your team actually uses an office on a typical day.
How many people are in the office at the same time? If your team works a hybrid schedule, with some staff working from home two or three days a week, you may need fewer desks than you have employees. A team of eight with a hybrid policy might only have five or six people in on any given day, meaning a six-desk office could work perfectly.
What kind of work does your team do? If everyone spends most of their day at a desk, you need a desk per person (or per concurrent user in a hybrid model). If staff spend significant time in meetings, on client sites, or working from the field, the desk count can be lower.
The Common Mistake: Sizing for Today
Many businesses choose an office that fits their current headcount exactly, with no room for growth. This feels efficient, but it creates a problem the moment you hire someone new. Suddenly, the office is too small, and you are either squeezing people in uncomfortably or looking for a new space.
A better approach is to size for the next 12 to 18 months. If you expect to hire two people this year, factor that into your space requirement from the start. The marginal cost of a slightly larger office is far less than the disruption and expense of relocating within a year.
The Opposite Mistake: Sizing for Ambition
The flip side is taking too much space based on optimistic projections. A ten-person office for a four-person team might feel aspirational, but if those six desks sit empty for a year, you are paying for space you do not use. This is where a serviced office has a genuine advantage over a traditional lease: you can scale up as you grow, rather than committing to space you hope to fill.
The right approach is pragmatic growth planning. Take slightly more space than you need today, with a clear path to expand if and when you need to. In a coworking environment, this might mean starting with a four-person office knowing that a six-person office is available in the same building when the time comes.
Consider the Ancillary Space
Your team does not just need desks. They need meeting space, a kitchen or break area, storage for equipment and files, and somewhere to take phone calls without disturbing colleagues. In a traditional office, you need to account for all of this in your lease. In a coworking space, these facilities are shared, which means you only need to size your private area for desks and immediate workspace needs.
This shared infrastructure is one of the key efficiency gains of coworking. A four-person team in a standalone office needs their own meeting room, kitchen, and reception area, which quickly adds up to 60 or 80 square metres. The same team in a serviced office needs just the desk space, perhaps 30 square metres, with shared access to meeting rooms, boardrooms, kitchens, and common areas.
Desk Layout and Comfort
Allow adequate space per person. The minimum comfortable desk space is approximately 6 to 8 square metres per person, including circulation space. Any less than this, and the office will feel cramped, which affects morale and productivity. If your work involves large monitors, dual screens, or physical materials like plans and samples, you will need more.
Consider the configuration as well. An open layout maximises the number of desks in a given space, but some teams work better with a degree of separation. L-shaped desks, dividers, or individual workstations can provide a sense of personal space without requiring significantly more floor area.
The Hybrid Variable
If your business operates a hybrid model, desk-sharing (sometimes called hot-desking) can reduce your space requirement significantly. The key is understanding your peak concurrent occupancy: the maximum number of people who will be in the office at the same time. This is the number you size your office for, not the total headcount.
Track attendance patterns over a few weeks before making your decision. You may find that Mondays and Fridays are quieter, while Tuesdays to Thursdays see full attendance. Size your office for the busiest days, and accept that it will feel spacious on the quieter ones.
Getting Practical Help
If you are unsure how to translate your team size and work patterns into a specific space requirement, talk to a workspace provider. At Office.101, the team can help you assess your needs, walk you through available options, and recommend a configuration that fits your business today while accommodating growth. Book a tour and bring your questions; there is no pressure to commit until you are confident the space is right.
