Acres of empty desks

New research reveals untapped potential for real estate savings through alternative workplace solutions

Companies are ignoring a largely untapped resource: acres of empty desks.

A new study by New Ways of Working (NewWOW) found that more than a quarter of employees in leading edge organizations work in non-traditional ways (working at home, in third places, client offices, satellite centers Yet, 73% of respondents still assigned a dedicated workspace to these workers, therefore not realizing the full potential of space savings.

In addition, many employees who report to an office, have no assigned workstation. Study participants indicated that, among the number of mobile employees (13%), nearly half (45%) are mobile within the office – attending meetings, working collaboratively with team members, or checking emails while in the company cafeteria.

Joe Ouye, co-founder of NewWOW, said that the actual mobility rate is much higher as employees don’t wait to be formally enrolled in a program, but literally vote with their feet and seats. All they need is a laptop and a broadband connection.”

Ouye says most corporations haven’t caught up with this fact. “Next time you go to a corporate office, walk around and take an informal survey of the seat occupancy. It is typically between 35 to 45%, far below what managers think it is.“

What does this mean for corporate real estate types? If they pay attention to who is working where and when, they can trim even more space from their office portfolios and still provide great places to work.

Public disclaimer: I freelance for New Ways of Working.

The rest of the press release: New Research Reveals Untapped Potential for Real Estate Savings Through Alternative Workplace Solutions, October 29, 2008. http://www.newwow.net/public/press-release-new-research-reveals-untapped-potential-real-estate-savings-through-alternative-workpl