The 3 technology trends impacting office space usage in 2025

It’s no secret. Companies are struggling with office space usage. Some are fighting for RTO. Many can’t decide if they need more space or less space. According to McKinsey, $800 billion dollars of corporate real estate is at stake by 2030 due to falling demand. In 2025, we expect these challenges to persist. Luckily, the market for office space technology is shifting priorities to help.

Trend #1: Companies want accurate office space usage facts

Perception of usage isn’t enough. That’s why over the past few years, many companies have wanted more ways to measure office space usage. This helps company leadership understand how their offices are actually being used. In some cases, this was done through consulting services or in-house teams that manually count people. Now, sensors and software can do this work for you.

However, even with sensors, many companies are now realizing that the accuracy of their office space usage data is paramount. Not all data will do. Some data—if it does not accurately reflect usage—is simply unreliable and does not provide a basis for confident decision-making that companies want. In 2024, we saw many companies beginning to evaluate the quality of their office space usage data and look for options that actually give them a better understanding of their true usage. In 2025, we expect this trend to continue.

Trend #2: Workplace usage data platforms are opening up

Companies today are collecting mountains of data about their workplaces. In fact, it might be too much to handle. Indoor climate data. Badge data. Occupancy data. Attendance data. Room booking data. The list goes on. Up until now, all this data has been stored in different locations. From our perspective, workplace usage data platforms have to—and will—open up.

Companies are desperate for a more holistic view of their workplace usage, and drawing conclusions about their office space usage will be impossible without easy ways to combine data sources in a single workplace usage data platform. This will require further API integrations from data providers, and more strategic ways of using workplace analytics to make decisions about employee experiences, facility management, and their real estate portfolios.

Trend #3: Technology is closing the expected usage gap

There is a noticeable gap between employer expectations for office attendance and employee behavior today. A 2024 survey from CBRE found that in North America, 60% of respondents wanted employees in the office 3+ days a week. However, only half said employees actually did that. Workplaces in Europe and Asia are experiencing a similar difficulty in aligning total attendance and attendance distributions with employer preferences. (CBRE, CBRE)

Why does this gap between expected usage and actual usage exist? And what can we do about it? We see that more and more companies are turning towards technology to address the gap. Occupancy data is one way, since it makes it simpler to determine if your company has the right amount of office space, the right type of space, and that the spaces are easy to use. But more companies are also looking at technologies that adjust actual usage in real time to gently encourage a proper use of spaces. For instance, many people complain about availability and people not showing up. By integrating workplace sensors with booking software, workplaces can release bookings if people don’t show up.

Of course, technology can’t solve workplace culture alone. As Darja Smite points out in her webinar on hybrid work trends, creating a company culture around hybrid working and using hybrid spaces is everyone’s responsibility—not just reserved for upper management.

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