Hybrid Work: How Much Office Space Does a Brussels Team Need?

2 days ago

3 min read

When people no longer come in five days a week, repeating yesterday's floor-area calculation is rarely the right approach. Automatically cutting the number of desks is no better: peak attendance is still real.

Observe before calculating

For several weeks, track attendance by day, overlapping meetings, visitors and use of quiet areas. The average alone can mislead: if Tuesday and Thursday bring almost everyone together, the office must work on those days. Add a sensible margin for hires already planned.

Choose the square metres you actually need

A good layout balances desks, meeting rooms, calls, storage and informal spaces. Check daylight, acoustics and how easily the fit-out can change. Offices on Avenue Louise come in different configurations. E-LITE is one example of divisible space to consider.

Meeting room at Topos on Avenue Louise — Meeting rooms are part of planning a hybrid office.

Keep some flexibility

Before signing, ask whether an extension, reduction or sublet could be allowed under the lease. Cost out both peak attendance and a growth scenario. You can then choose a space suited to how the team works, not just the number of employment contracts.

A question to ask during a viewing

Ask to see a furnished floor plan for your busiest day, not the quietest Friday. Where can three people make calls at once? How will a visitor be welcomed during a team meeting? If these activities clash, you may need more space or a different layout. Hybrid work changes how the space is divided as well as how large it is.

A practical example of a hybrid week

Imagine a 24-person team with two possible work-from-home days. A weekly average might suggest that twelve desks are enough. But if almost everyone comes in on Tuesday, employees will end up working in meeting rooms or booking desks weeks in advance. Track peak days instead. Include visitors, trainees and colleagues who are passing through. Then test the layout against real activities: a client meeting, three confidential calls and focused work happening at the same time.

The right floor area means more than individual desks

An effective hybrid office may have fewer permanent desks and more spaces suited to specific tasks. A small, well-insulated room keeps a video call from disturbing the whole floor. Lockers reduce clutter when desks are unassigned. A large project table may be more useful than another row of chairs. During the viewing, ask for a scaled plan and sketch a busy day. If the layout only works when half the team is away, the office is undersized.

The meeting-room trap

Many hybrid projects carefully count desks and estimate meeting rooms by guesswork. Yet on the days people come in, everyone wants to meet: project teams, interviews, clients and video calls. Track overlapping meetings for two weeks, then note their size. A 12-seat room used all day by two people may point to a need for smaller enclosed rooms. Conversely, adding phone booths will not replace a real collaboration space. The future office plan should reflect how people actually work, even if that challenges the ideal-office picture you started with.