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Everyone loses
Office space shrinks, becomes more democratic.
The cubicle and office walls really are closing in on workers. The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) conducted an eight-year study that shows that most workers in U.S. offices have been forced to adapt to progressively less space. Not all employees lost room equally, however. The research revealed that the top dogs with more square footage lost the highest percentage of space.
Executives, senior managers, and middle managers all lost about 16% of their space between 1994 and 2002. Executives went from about 290 square feet to 239, senior managers from 200 to 170, and middle managers from 151 to 126. Technical professionals fared better, losing about 12% of their space in the eight-year span, from 90 to 79 square feet. Clerical personnel saw their already meager accommodations of 69 square feet reduced to 66.
The study’s results, while not mind-blowing, do confirm that companies are trying to reduce overhead and need creative ways to fit people into less space. The data points to reducing the oversized offices of upper-echelon employees to preserve space for those who are working in smaller quarters.
So when your next client is looking to relocate his offices, he may not want huge corner suites for the executives. Instead, tempt him with an open, flexible floor plan that can accommodate lots of smaller-sized offices and cubicles.
Photo © Photodisc.
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