For decades, workplace design revolved around one deceptively simple metric: square feet (SQF) per person. It was measurable, easy to benchmark and effective for an era when work happened almost exclusively at the office.
The rise of hybrid in-office work, evolving employee expectations and generational shifts are changing the fundamentals of how, why and where we work. Today’s workplace is no longer defined just by traditional space efficiency metrics like SQF per employee; it’s about purpose, impact and experience.
Square Feet per Person vs. Experience-Based Design
The traditional approach treats office space as a commodity to be optimized: Count desks, allocate rooms and measure density. That formula-first mindset assumes workplace consistency: fixed work hours, static teams and a uniform work style.
What is becoming more common is employees deciding when and why they come to the office. Their reasons and motivations range from collaboration and connection to concentration or simply a change of scenery. The diversity of these motivations means that a one-size-fits-all workplace design approach may not fully meet the varied needs of today’s employees. Some traditional work zones sit empty while emerging space types such as quiet zones, libraries, tech-enabled meeting spaces, team hubs and wellness areas are overbooked.
Experience-based workplace planning reframes the value of space. Instead of asking how many employees fit, the focus is on how well the space meets the needs of its users.
This approach is backed by data: Cushman & Wakefield’s XSF framework, for example, identifies five physical features that significantly boost employee engagement: energizing ambiance, cultural expression, acoustic privacy, quiet zones and access to private virtual meeting spaces. When present, these features can raise employee satisfaction scores by 51%. And this satisfaction isn’t abstract; it is linked to productivity, innovation, retention and well-being.
It is important to recognize that traditional workplace design strategies, such as planning by square footage per person and prioritizing dedicated workstations, continue to be highly effective for many organizations, especially those whose culture, goals and work styles align with more structured environments. (See Figure 1.)
Figure 1: Design differences explained. This chart shows key differences between square footage design, which is optimized for function, and experience-based design, which is optimized for engagement and interaction.
For companies with consistent in-office attendance, well-defined roles or a need for privacy and focus — such as law firms, financial institutions or certain government agencies — using an SQF-focused design approach can provide predictability, efficiency and clarity that supports operational success.
Designing With Purpose
The key is to make design choices tailored to the unique needs and values of an organization, rather than adopting new trends for their own sake. What fosters collaboration in one culture may hinder focus in another. Chasing trends like open layouts or introducing nature into design can be misleading. These concepts often stem from specific contexts that may not suit every team. Success lies in alignment and designing spaces that support business goals and employee needs.
When considering an experience-based design approach, facility and real estate professionals must pivot from space efficiency to spatial effectiveness. This means aligning workplace design with corporate policies and operations by connecting design teams with human resources, IT and communications departments. The goal is to create a dynamic workspace for engagement, innovation and culture-building. Design strategies to employ could include:
Blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, strategic assets like collaborative workspaces under vaulted arches foster creativity and connection in a bright, open-air environment.
The Evolution of Workplace Planning
Creating an effective workplace goes beyond aesthetics. It demands a strategic, detail-oriented approach that considers every aspect of how people work and interact within a space. When considering moving beyond workplace design based on square footage, consider:
These factors can help capture the richness of experience, the sense of belonging and the ease of doing great work in an ideal work environment. A workspace that fosters employees’ hierarchy of needs enables them to be their most productive selves.
As a result, organizations increasingly are blending traditional and experience-based design approaches. By combining the quantitative clarity of SQF metrics with the qualitative insights of experience-based design, companies can create spaces that are both efficient and inspiring. The key is to align the design strategy with the organization’s unique culture, goals and workforce dynamics.
The future of the workplace is more than a container — it’s a platform for performance and a canvas for culture. Rather than focusing solely on planning for presence, organizations are intentionally considering how to design spaces with a clear sense of purpose in mind. This approach encourages a shift from simply counting square footage to thoughtfully mapping out experiences that different spaces can offer, moving from measuring just how many people a space can accommodate to understanding how well it supports their needs.
Because in this new world of work, employee experience is everything.
An experienced, integrated design-build team makes decisions that support both efficiency and comfort throughout a facility’s life cycle.
Note: All renderings are conceptual designs only.