Future of Work Insights Industry News / Research

Businesses waste millions on empty desks

By Catherine Steele

Research | August 9, 2019

Businesses are wasting more than £1.6m (US$2.5m/A$1.8m)[1] a year on empty desks by failing to implement a structured workspace management system. Getting the correct work-life balance has never been more important but allowing employees to work from home or come into the office at different times means many office desks are left empty. With the average London office workstation costing more than £8,000 (US$13,000/A$9,700)[1] a year, each empty desk is a big drain on the finances of any organisation.

The key is to manage your workspace

Implementing a structured workspace management system, with desk and car park space booking applications, means that desk space can be used by multiple employees at different times as required. Utilisation rates can be monitored and unused space can either be repurposed or removed, saving organisations substantial amounts of money. “Organisations need to be able to plan and schedule desk usage to maintain an effective use of space,” says Chris Burke, CEO of HybridHero, a new workspace planning application. “This will ensure undue stress isn’t inflicted onto employees as a result of overcrowding on the days they come into the office, and employers don’t waste large amounts of money providing desks that aren’t needed.”

Employees value the option to work flexibly

Keeping track of costs and retaining key employees is essential in today’s increasingly competitive workplace. New research [2] found that 52% of office workers believe the option to work flexibly is the factor that would most improve their work-life balance. This is followed closely by the option to work from home (37%) and the ability to take small breaks during the day (33%).

Achieving a good work-life balance is important

By managing their workspace in a structured way, organisations are not only able to save significant amounts of money, but they can also improve the working environment for their employees. It is widely accepted that achieving a good work-life balance is important for both physical and mental health, particularly when it comes to productivity and performance. Enabling workers to plan their working week in advance by booking a desk or meeting room also reduces anxiety and work-related stress. HybridHero is our new workspace planning system which addresses the issue of unnecessary spending on unused desk space by enabling employees to pre-book a workspace and employers to monitor utilisation with detailed MI and data-rich reports. It is intuitive, simple-to-use and built on scalable and secure cutting-edge cloud-based technology. To find out how HybridHero can help you optimise your workspace, increase desk utilisation, reduce costs and improve employee wellbeing, please visit HybridHero. Alternatively contact a member of our support team at info@hybridhero.com to arrange a meeting or product demo. [1] Rates for desk costs are taken from Instant Offices’ Global Cities flexible workspace market review 2017. The average company size used is 500 desks and the utilisation rate of 61% taken from Brickendon projects. Currency conversion rate correct as of May 9, 2019. [2] The research was commissioned by Brickendon Digital, the product arm of Brickendon Consulting. It was carried out by Atomik Research among 1,001 UK office workers between 14-19th March. All respondents were aged 18+. To find out more about how HybridHero can help you optimise your workspace, save money and improve the overall wellbeing of your employees, sign up for a free trial today.

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