Q4 2024 Global Occupancy Benchmarks Report
The (Still) Evolving State of the Workplace
“This is the critical transition year into whatever our next phase of trends will be over the next 5-10 years. […] It’s a difficult time for a lot of corporate real estate people trying to figure out how to align all that data to understand the story, and then what are you doing to do with that?”
– Tiffany English, Senior Director, Architecture – Qualcomm
Global benchmarks for 2024 show workplace flexibility is paramount, even as RTO compliance increased. How do real estate professionals design spaces for this newest way of working and is efficiency possible in an era of competing mandates and employee expectations? Discover the key takeaways from 2024 and the potential impacts on workplace utilization in 2025.
Key Findings
- Varying adherence to RTO mandates
Peak occupancy was higher in APAC (47%) and LATAM (40%) and frequency was more consistent than comparable offices in Europe and North America, suggesting RTO mandates have more traction in these regions. - Prioritizing flexibility
More employees are coming in to the office, but they are doing so for shorter and shorter duration. Combined with an ongoing preference for mid-week days, companies now face the challenge of balancing individual space with on-site flexibility. - Optimizing portfolios
North American and European offices, often more expensive and requiring additional amenities, offer greater opportunities for rightsizing.
APAC and LATAM Led the RTO Trend in 2024
LATAM occupancy rates rose considerably in 2024 to 40%, catching up to APAC (47%) as the two regions led globally.
North America and Europe remained largely unchanged throughout the year, averaging 33% and 28% overall.
Global Shift to 2-3 Days/Week in 2024
In 2023 the primary office visit preference across most regions was once/week. By Q2 2024, however, a new wave of RTO mandates drove a global shift and 2-3 days/week became the dominant preference.
Visit Duration Dropped in Tandem with Stronger RTO Mandates
Stricter RTO mandates saw 49% of global office visits shift to short-to-medium durations (< 6 hours), driven by “coffee-badging” and task-specific visits; a marked distinction from the 8-hour pre-pandemic norm.
Office Visits Peaked Midweek Globally
Tuesdays and Wednesdays averaged 24%, while Fridays lagged at just 12%. This was most pronounced in Europe and LATAM, and all regions except APAC saw significant weekday occupancy imbalances.
At 17% APAC’s OVI* reflects a more stable and optimized workplace environment, impacting workplace efficiency and collaboration.
*The Occupancy Variance Index (OVI) provides insights into the weekly distribution of occupancy. A high OVI indicates variable occupancy throughout the week, suggesting a need for optimization, while a low OVI indicates stability. Typically, an office with evenly distributed occupancy across the week maintains an OVI lower than 20%. It is calculated by taking the Standard Deviation of the peak occupancy for each weekday divided by the Average peak occupancy for the entire week.
Check out the full Q4 2024 Basking Global Occupancy Benchmarks Report to access all the trends by region, and take a deeper look at the challenges they create for real estate professionals in the accompanying webinar with Tiffany English, Senior Director, Architecture at Qualcomm.
Contact us to learn how we can help you assess your occupancy and maximize flexibility to support your utilization strategy.
