Planning, Not Guesswork

Data-driven occupancy planning has come to the forefront as a means of simultaneously boosting workplace effectiveness and space utilization. The most successful organizations are leveraging occupancy data to power workplace strategy and portfolio optimization, ensuring that real estate decisions reflect workforce needs and achieve business objectives.

Portfolio optimization takes center stage

What makes this year's Global Occupancy Planning Benchmark Report particularly compelling is that it illustrates a clear shift toward portfolio optimization. Portfolio optimization has emerged as the leading CRE objective, with 73 percent of survey respondents identifying it as their primary focus — surpassing improved reporting and cost reduction, which were top priorities in previous years.

This shift toward portfolio optimization is not simply about cost-cutting, although more than 50 percent of organizations are actively reducing their footprints. Portfolio optimization improves space utilization, which 81 percent of organizations view as the primary goal of their hybrid work programs.

Increasing office attendance has become a top-five CRE priority, not only to boost space utilization, but for the larger imperatives of fostering culture and collaboration, engaging talent and advancing corporate goals. Toward that aim, nearly 40 percent of organizations are reimagining their workplaces to enhance productivity, support collaboration and sustainability goals.

Geopolitical and economic uncertainty also contributes to the focus on portfolio optimization. Many C-suite leaders are looking to balance growth targets with caution, optimizing real estate to control operational costs.

Evolution of hybrid work

Hybrid work programs remain — but fewer organizations are continuing the concept. At present, 77 percent of organizations surveyed continue to maintain hybrid programs, down from 87 percent a year ago. More organizations are adopting structured approaches, while the number of organizations with fully flexible policies is declining. In 2025, 49 percent of organizations require a fixed number of in-office days, an increase from 27 percent in 2023.

Attendance mandates provide certain benefits, including more predictable attendance patterns and more in-person collaboration. More than half of employees are now back in the office three to five days per week, according to JLL’s occupancy research.

Concurrently, the strategic objectives of hybrid work are evolving. While improving space utilization is the top objective of hybrid working for most companies responding to the survey, improving employee experience is the top priority for a hefty 67 percent. These trends indicate that organizations want to get the most out of their real estate by creating right-sized spaces with compelling environments that engage and attract employees.

Today, organizations embracing the power of occupancy planning are moving beyond tactical hybrid work implementation to embrace a more sophisticated, data-backed approach. Leveraging advanced data and analytics is that critical next step toward maximizing real estate value and supporting organizational success.

Data-driven decision-making: The new standard

Successful real estate strategies require effective data strategies. Organizations analyzing the right metrics can simultaneously optimize costs and enhance employee experience, creating compelling workplaces that drive both productivity and engagement.

The data capability gap represents enormous competitive opportunity. Organizations with advanced predictive analytics achieve superior results in pattern identification, space allocation and portfolio optimization. Yet only 45 percent of companies rate their data capabilities as "good" and merely 7 percent as "excellent,” revealing that most organizations are operating far below their analytical potential and missing significant optimization opportunities.

Among data types related to occupancy planning, utilization rate has been the most important metric for three years in a row, according to JLL’s occupancy benchmarking research. A primary workspace performance indicator, utilization data is essential for understanding how space is being used — as opposed to how it is allocated — to inform hybrid work and portfolio strategies. Nearly 75 percent of organizations track utilization data, up from 62 percent in 2019, while 70 percent use utilization data in space planning, up from 60 percent in 2019.

As organizations track utilization more consistently, office utilization has risen globally for the second consecutive year, now reaching 54 percent on average — close to the pre-pandemic level of 61 percent. Latin America and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) have shown the greatest year-over-year increase in office utilization, while North America lags, both in terms of actual utilization and achieving target rates. Closing the gap between actual and target utilization will continue to be a top priority among companies with hybrid work environments.

Regular audits are essential for maintaining accurate occupancy data and monitoring progress toward goals. JLL’s research reveals that only 25 percent of organizations conduct quarterly data audits, and just another 25 percent perform monthly reviews — meaning half of all companies may be making critical real estate decisions based on outdated, inaccurate information.

The problem runs deeper than audit frequency. Many organizations still rely on manual processes, creating paper or PDF floorplans that must be manually input into work-order systems. This approach creates multiple failure points that compromise data accuracy and severely limit how often information can be updated.

Workplace experience: Structure, flexibility & wellness

Organizations are strategically reinventing their workplaces to support hybrid work's dual demands: creating collaboration hubs for team gatherings while maintaining spaces for focused individual work.

While space utilization remains the top priority, companies are equally focused on creating high-performing environments and compelling workplace experiences. This is driving a fundamental shift in space allocation:

• Shrinking individual workspace square footage to free up valuable real estate

• Expanding collaboration areas and multi-use spaces to support team interaction

• Adding new office amenities that enhance the employee experience and justify commuting to the office

The strategic insight: Organizations are discovering that optimizing space utilization and improving workplace experience are not competing goals — they are complementary strategies that reinforce each other when executed with data-driven precision.

Organizations are making strategic investments to optimize their workplaces across three key areas. More than half (56 percent) have created hybrid collaboration spaces that seamlessly support both in-person attendees and remote participants through integrated video conferencing technology. Meanwhile, 50 percent are actively reconfiguring their workspaces and investing in new furniture to repurpose existing areas for different functions and improved flexibility.

The most strategic investment involves reservation systems: 58 percent of organizations are implementing smart booking platforms that serve dual purposes — streamlining the employee experience for shared space access while generating valuable utilization data to inform future workplace decisions. This approach transforms every booking into actionable intelligence, enabling continuous optimization based on actual usage patterns rather than assumptions.

In addition to adjusting their space allocation approaches, nearly 80 percent of organizations are creating new standards for smaller workspaces, although many have not yet implemented changes. For instance, 65 percent have created standards with enclosed offices of 125 square feet or less; yet only 42 percent have enclosed offices meeting that size standard. Similarly, 78 percent are targeting open workspace spaces of 50 square feet or less, but only 67 percent have actually implemented that target size.

Organizations are also expanding wellness and cultural features, recognizing the importance of employee well-being as a driver of workplace attendance and satisfaction. One-fifth have added wellness areas and mothers’ rooms, while 14 percent have created prayer and meditation spaces. Sit-to-stand desks are now standard in new buildouts for 77 percent of organizations.

Sustainability: Aligning environmental & financial goals

Sustainability remains a significant priority for CRE leaders participating in the JLL survey, with nearly 75 percent indicating they have a sustainability program in place. While achieving carbon emissions targets and reducing waste are typically the goals, sustainability initiatives also tend to deliver operational cost savings and improved space efficiency. Sustainability programs are now mainstream in office environments and are becoming more common in technical spaces. More than 40 percent of organizations have a sustainability program in place for their technical spaces. Sustainability efforts are primarily focused on energy efficiency, waste reduction, design efficiency, green building certifications and water conservation.

Recommendations for facilities leaders

To implement findings of JLL’s Global Occupancy Planning Report 2025 and prepare for the future of work, the following are key actions for facilities teams to pursue.

• Develop a holistic portfolio optimization strategy that strikes the right balance between costs, employee experience and corporate goals.

• Invest in advanced data management and analytics tools to leverage occupancy, lease and workplace experience data. Implement standard quantitative and qualitative space utilization measurement methods, including real-time data and employee feedback. Prioritize solutions that integrate multiple data sources into unified, AI-powered visualizations. The right platform will uncover utilization patterns; generate real-time, predictive insights; and enable agile space allocation for dynamic workplace management.

• Adapt workplaces in response to data and feedback and be prepared to adjust space standards as conditions evolve. Implementing pilot programs before wide-scale deployment can provide valuable insights and reduce the risk of making decisions that are not aligned with business goals and employee needs.

• Emphasize structured in-office schedules and investments in collaboration spaces, as well as technology solutions to improve employee experience and create a predictable and efficient workplace. Expand wellness and cultural spaces to enhance employee engagement and support return-to-office efforts.

• Design for adaptability, not permanence. Create modular, reconfigurable spaces that can be rapidly transformed to support different work modes as needs evolve. This flexible approach should encompass furniture systems, technology infrastructure and space allocations — enabling organizations to respond quickly to changing business requirements without costly renovations or permanent modifications that may become obsolete.

• Align sustainability initiatives with operational and financial objectives. Support net-zero carbon emissions goals by establishing emissions targets across the real estate life cycle. Best practices include minimizing construction waste, right-sizing scenarios to reduce square footage, and reusing or reconfiguring furniture to lower the carbon footprint.

The future of work: From speculation to strategic action

The end of office space speculation is here. Leading organizations are recognizing that maximizing real estate as an asset will drive competitive advantage. JLL’s occupancy planning research advocates for data-driven occupancy planning, holistic portfolio management and a relentless focus on aligning real estate with business and workforce needs.

As organizations continue to navigate uncertainty and evolving work patterns, those that embrace data-driven, integrated strategies will be best positioned to create high-performing, sustainable and engaging workplaces. A holistic approach to occupancy planning that merges transaction management insights, critical lease dates, occupancy data, workplace experience and sustainability goals will equip every organization for this new era of work.