Q2 2025 Global Occupancy Benchmarks Report
Dynamic Management for a Demand-Driven Era
“Every prediction you make, every assumption you put in, is guaranteed to be wrong when you’re working on [5, 10, 20 year] planning cycles and the business is changing demand [that much] on a yearly basis…”
– Iain Franklin, Managing Director, Consulting – JLL
The second quarter of 2025 brought a marked return to more dynamic office patterns, undermining early indications of mandate adherence and smoother office distribution. In the face of this more dynamic office environment, demand-driven industries offer a template for shaping usage patterns based on data and opportunity. Discover how these trends support a more proactive strategy for fostering presence and collaboration in the office while improving efficiency and sustainability.
Key Findings
- Mandate-driven occupancy declined
While Q1 2025 saw an early surge in occupancy, momentum faded again in Q2, underscoring the limitations of mandates and continuing a pattern of seasonal fluctuations that may be artificially inflating RTO numbers. - More days, less time
Full-week office presence continues to strengthen, but short- to medium-duration visits remain the global norm. - Was the Friday comeback short-lived?
Q2 also saw a return to midweek attendance patterns, with Fridays in particular experiencing a significant drop-off in office visits.
APAC Led RTO Momentum With Average Rate of 54%
While the APAC occupancy rate dipped slightly in Q2 after peaking at 65% in March, it continues to lead the RTO momentum with an average rate of 54%.
LATAM followed at 42%, EMEA at 33%, and North America at 32% for the quarter.
Full-Time Office Presence Grew In All Regions — Except EMEA
All regions except EMEA saw a QoQ increase of 5-7 points in the “4 to 5 days per week” office visit category. EMEA experienced a 3-point decline, but remained 4 points above its full-year 2024 average.
Short- to Medium-Duration Visits Remain the Global Norm
Office visits under 7 hours in duration continued to dominate across all regions. EMEA and North America recorded increases of 1 to 2 points, while LATAM saw a decline of 1 point.
Midweek Office Attendance Rebounded After Q1 Plateau
After stabilizing in Q1, midweek office attendance increased in Q2 across all regions except North America. Tuesdays and Wednesdays showed renewed momentum, while Fridays continued to decline in presence.
The Occupancy Variance Index rose across all regions except North America. APAC recorded a 3-point increase, EMEA 6 points, and LATAM 5 points—indicating growing variability in weekday occupancy patterns.
*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 Q2 2025 Basking Global Occupancy Benchmarks Report to access all the trends by region, and identify some actionable ways you can impact your return to office efforts in the accompanying webinar with Iain Franklin, Managing Director, Consulting at JLL.
Contact us to learn how we can help you assess your occupancy and maximize flexibility to support your utilization strategy.
