Glossary
Occupancy
Often quoted as a daily average, which hides the peak that space is actually sized for.
Occupancy is the proportion of a space that is in use at a given moment, counted as workplaces in use against workplaces available. It is a snapshot, not a period: an occupancy of 42 per cent describes one moment on one day, and a building is sized on the busiest of those moments rather than on their average.
Also called Occupancy rate, Space occupancy
How it is calculated
Occupancy = workplaces in use ÷ workplaces available × 100
- Workplaces in use
- Observed as being worked at, at the moment of measurement.
- Workplaces available
- Workplaces a person could have used at that moment, excluding anything out of service.
Expressed as A percentage, at a stated moment on a stated day.
CBRE publishes an "occupancy rate" that means assigned employees per available desk. That is a sharing ratio, not this measure, and the two move in opposite directions. Check which one a benchmark is quoting before comparing it with your own.
Worked example
- Workplaces available
- 240
- In use, Tuesday 11:00
- 101
- In use, Friday 16:00
- 26
Occupancy is 42 per cent on the Tuesday morning and 11 per cent on the Friday afternoon.
Neither figure sizes the building. The Tuesday reading is closer to the question, and only the distribution across the whole measured period answers it.
Where it goes wrong
Averaging the day away
A daily or weekly average smooths the peak out of existence. Space that works at the average fails on the busiest day, which is the day people remember.
Counting the desk, not the work
A workplace with a bag on it is occupied and produces nothing. Occupancy without activity classification cannot tell you which of the two you are looking at.
Comparing across definitions
Two suppliers can quote the same number against different denominators — all desks, bookable desks, assigned desks. Ask what the denominator was before you compare.
Where this measurement decides something
Comparing two suppliers' occupancy figures?
Send us both and we will tell you what each one is actually counting. No meeting required.