Number of m² per person in the office: the guide to intelligently arrange your spaces

What if the size of your offices revealed much more than the simple size of your premises?
Beyond legal obligations, the answer concerns issues of comfort, productivity, cost management, but also flexibility in the face of new ways of working. So, The number of m² per person in the office has become a real strategic lever for businesses.

Teleworking, flex office, shared workstations... Habits have changed, and with them, the way we think about office design. Today, it is no longer just a question of respecting a few square meters per employee. The challenge is to intelligently optimize each space, based on concrete data. Fewer square meters wasted, more efficiency on a daily basis.

Why is the area per person in the office a key issue today?

Designing your offices is no longer just a question of square meters, it is a real strategic thought.

New work habits: flex office, teleworking, coworking

The office is no longer a fixed place for everyone. Teleworking, flex office and shared spaces have transformed uses. As a result, some positions remain unoccupied for part of the week. Adapting surfaces to these new dynamics is therefore becoming essential.

Legal and health obligations to be respected

Even without an imposed minimum area, the law requires conditions of safety and comfort. Clear traffic, accessible posts, sufficient ventilation... Criteria that have been reinforced since the health crisis. They expect increased vigilance in the distribution of spaces.

The search for economic performance and well-being

Missizing your offices means risking discomfort, noise, and even overload, all factors that hinder productivity. On the other hand, adapted surfaces make it possible to optimize costs, while promoting the well-being of teams. Hence the importance of a reasoned approach, based on real uses.

What do the regulations say about office space per person?

Contrary to a received idea, The Labor Code Does not fix any minimum surface in square meters per employee. It is not the text of the law that imposes the The famous rule of 10 m² per person, but more general requirements.

Legislation in force

THEarticle R4214‑22 of the Labor Code states that premises and posts must offer a sufficient freedom of movement and allow tasks to be carried out without risking health, safety or well-being.

Clearly, the employer must ensure that each employee has a space adapted to his activity, but no numerical area is imposed.

Even though the rule of 10 m² per station Isn't not a legal requirement, she is featured in the AFNOR NF X35-102 standard. It recommends:

• 10 m² for an individual office,
• 11 m² in a closed shared office and
• 15 m² in open space.

But Pay attention to the interpretation: these surfaces generally include Circulation spaces, the common areas Like the washrooms, the coffee machine, or even the relaxation areas. It is therefore not 10 m² of “useful” surface for the station, but a overall estimate per position.

Specific cases: open space, shared offices, sit-stand stations

In fact, if your open space is well laid out, it is entirely possible to be comfortable with 6 to 8 m² per person. And if you opt for a organization in flex office, well controlled, with rotating schedules, you can go down to 5 m² per active user without compromising use or well-being.

Instead of thinking only in terms of gross area, ask yourself the following question:
What level of comfort, productivity, and collaboration do you want to promote?

For example:

• By opting for 15 m²/open-space station, you make it easier to get around, reduce noise and improve concentration.
  
  
• On the other hand, 11 m² in a shared office may be enough if you prefer the proximity of teams and fluid communication.
  
  
• For positions that require confidentiality or concentration, 10 m² per person in a closed office remains a functional base.

How to calculate the number of m² per person in an office?

The correct calculation of the layout of work spaces does not rely solely on a mathematical division. It is necessary to distinguish the spaces actually used from the overall surface.

The basic calculation is simple:
Total area of the room ÷ number of workstations = m² per person

A basic formula... to be refined

We often start by dividing the total area of the room by the number of workstations. This is a useful first estimate, but still too approximate to be really usable.

Be careful to take into account:

• Common areas (meeting rooms, kitchen, sanitary facilities) that reduce the available space
• Circulations (corridors, accesses) often forgotten in the calculation

These areas can represent 30 to 50% of the total surface. Not accounting for them would distort the true valuation of number of m2 per person in the office.

Concrete example:
An open-space of 200m² gross for 20 people = 10m²/pers. But by removing the common areas, we arrive at only 6m²/person of effective workspace.

However, if your Actual occupancy rate exceeds 70%, avoid going below 8 m² per person: this increases the risk of noise pollution, reduced concentration and cognitive fatigue.

So:

• For 15 employees, plan between 120 and 150 m² of useful space
  → 15 x 8 = 120 m²/15 x 10 = 150 m²
  
  
• For 25 employees, plan between 200 and 250 m² of useful space
  → 25 x 8 = 200 m²/25 x 10 = 250 m²
  
  
• For 30 employees, plan between 240 and 300 m² of useful space
  → 30 x 8 = 240 m²/30 x 10 = 300 m²
  From this threshold, the installation of a flow counting system (sensors, badges, etc.) is strongly recommended to optimize the real use of space.

Gross space vs useful space

Another essential distinction: the gross area (including walls, posts, technical clearances) is not what your teams actually use. For a fair calculation,

Tip: Use occupancy sensors or tools like the flex office software of Technis to obtain accurate data on the real use of spaces and avoid approximations.

Optimizing professional spaces: the levers to activate

Optimizing space is not the same as maximizing the number of seats per square meter.

It means adopting a functional and strategic approach to planning, where each surface contributes to collective performance. With an organization adapted to real uses, it is possible to reconcile the rationalization of square meters and the quality of working conditions.

Ergonomic and modular layout

A frozen office is a thing of the past. Today, it's time for modularity.

• Compact furniture: built-in storage, shallow, but well-thought-out desks, it frees up space without sacrificing the essentials.
• Mobile partitions: to create or delete zones according to the needs of the day (meeting, call, solo work...).
• Multipurpose spaces: the same room can be used as a break room, brainstorming room or training room. It's all about smart zoning.
  

A good layout is a space that adapts to your uses... not the other way around. And if you want to go further, why not make your offices evolve into a real smart building ?

Workstation organization

You don't need a big desk to be efficient. But you have to think about every detail:

• A distance of about 80 cm between the stations allows you to move without disturbing your neighbours.
• Good light (ideally natural) improves concentration.
• A little bit of acoustic treatment (panels, plants, coatings) makes all the difference in open-space.
• And above all: everything at your fingertips. The less you get up to look for a plug, a binder or a mouse, the more fluidity you gain.

Well Organizing your position is gain in comfort, but also in Mastery of space.

Why use technology to manage your layouts?

For precise control, data is better than assumptions. Les occupancy sensors, counting tools and analytics platforms give you a clear vision of your real uses.
These solutions make it possible to:

• Measure the actual occupancy of workstations and rooms,
• Identify areas that are over- or under-used,
• Anticipate future needs without oversizing your premises.

Workspace area: how many m² per person should you plan for depending on the case?

There is no one-size-fits-all rule, but there are some useful guidelines and recommendations:

• VSE/SME: often between 8 and 10 m² per person, with a flexible approach if teleworking is common.
• Large companies: mixed models, with fixed and shared areas; we work around 6 to 8 m² per employee.
• Collaborative spaces: in open space or coworking, you can go down to 5 m², thanks to the rotation of positions.
• Fixed positions? More surface area. Shared workstations? Fewer, but better managed.

These recommendations should be adapted according to the real attendance rate... and work habits.

Optimize the number of m² per person in the office, it means combining comfort, efficiency and cost control. By relying on concrete data and tools such as those of Technis, you adapt each m² according to real uses. Less waste, more agility. What if it was a good time to rethink your spaces?