Office’s New Purpose: Affiliation

In 2025, global office utilization reported its largest annual gain in four years. But employees aren’t returning simply because they’re being told to.

According to CBRE’s 2026 “Global Workplace & Occupancy Insights” survey report, organizations that design their office spaces for collaboration, culture and connection are experiencing the strongest attendance gains.

Office utilization rose to 53% in 2025 from 38% a year earlier. Peak utilization reached 80%, while average occupancy climbed to 111%, reflecting a higher level of desk sharing and more flexible workplace strategies.

“We’re seeing the best attendance gains where organizations make the office a more purposeful place to be,” Lenny Beaudoin, CBRE’s executive managing director of workplace, design and occupancy, told Connect CRE.

Beaudoin, who co-authored the report with CBRE colleague Susan Wasmund, said organizations are increasingly measuring office performance by what the workplace supports rather than how full it is.

“It’s being judged by what it enables,” he said. “The next generation of workplace strategy is about affiliation, collaboration, culture and performance.”

Collaboration Replaces Solo Work

The report suggests that the office’s primary purpose has shifted from providing individual work space to fostering interaction.

Among survey respondents, 93% said that colleague collaboration was a main reason for coming into the office, followed by in-person meetings (90%) and social interaction and team building (89%).

That shift is also impacting office layouts. Between 2021 and 2025, space dedicated to individual workstations fell from 56% to 35% of the workplace, while collaborative areas expanded from 12% to 56%.

What about amenities? The report said that vacancy in prime office buildings that offer plentiful amenities is “measurable lower than the broader market.” More important than the latest, shiniest feature is the quality of the environment.

“Wellness and lifestyle amenities have a role, but the data suggests they are strongest as part of a broader workplace ecosystem rather than as stand-alone attendance magnets,” Beaudoin said.

He pointed to one global financial institution where 85% of employees voluntarily met attendance expectations after the company improved hybrid coordination and made in-office time more socially valuable.

Another Australian company replaced strict return-to-office mandates with structured in-person team gatherings designed to strengthen relationships and advance key projects.

Rethinking the Workplace

CBRE suggested that organizations should treat office space as a competitive advantage rather than an overhead expense, with the following recommendations:

• Measure employee engagement and business outcomes in addition to utilization.
• Design spaces to encourage collaboration and human connection.
• Use workplace data to develop attendance strategies instead of issuing blanket mandates.
• Invest in technologies such as space reservation systems, presence sensing and AI-powered occupancy analytics.
• Focus investment on workplace quality and employee experience rather than just efficiency.

Looking Ahead

CBRE expects office utilization to continue rising through 2027, although economic uncertainty, slower hiring, workforce reductions and resistance to rigid attendance policies could temper that growth.

Beaudoin also pointed to AI-driven changes in job responsibilities and uneven attendance patterns as factors employers will need to navigate.

“Utilization can keep rising, but only if organizations pair policy clarity with a workplace experience that makes the trip worthwhile,” he said.

For employers, that means moving beyond the question of how to get employees back into the office and instead focusing on what the workplace can provide that remote work cannot.

“The organizations that answer this question clearly will be better positioned to turn attendance into business value,” Beaudoin said.