Hybrid Work Is Saving Companies Money—Here’s How Much

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Does switching to remote or hybrid work actually save money? Some barebones numbers.

Fortune did a deep dive recently on how much money companies are saving by downsizing their owned and long-term leased real estate footprints and switching to hybrid or remote. Here are some of the numbers that caught our attention:

  • 150 square feet of real estate per employee used to be the rule of thumb; now that’s is major flux.
  • 83% of executives in a survey by Robin said they expect hybrid work to be a cost saver.
  • 60% of executives in that survey said they plan to reduce office space by at least half.
  • 74% of Fortune 500 CEOs say they plan to reduce office space.

Reducing their leased or owned real estate footprints and brining scalable, pay-as-you-go flexible workspace into the mix, companies can expect to save:

  • 50% on their real estate costs when they switch to hybrid, according to IWG CEO Mark Dixon — and CFOs are “really focused” on the potential savings.
  • $11,000 for every employee who starts working remotely two to three days per week, thanks to reduced rent, increased productivity, lower absenteeism and lower employee turnover, according to new Global Workplace Analytics research.
  • $500 million is the savings tech giant Cisco has reported since they cut their real estate footprint in half five years ago. 

At Upflex, we’re seeing companies cut real estate costs significantly, while boosting their talent acquisition, retention, and employee satisfaction. But to get this point, understanding how employees are using workspace is critical.

The biggest success stories leverage data to make sustainable, long-term strategies that are great for both employee wellness and satisfaction and for the bottom line.

When it comes to reducing real estate costs, workspace utilization data is your new best friend.

As companies establish their strategies and policies for indefinite remote-first or hybrid work, I keep seeing this among both my colleagues and our customers: Guesses don’t lead to sustainable solutions. Rather, companies are hungry for real data — data they can monitor, learn from, and build solutions around.

Employees say they want flexibility and choice. Does that mean the ability to work from a different space five days a week? Or does that mean the ability to work from home sometimes, from the office sometimes, and from third-party spaces while they travel? Answering these questions with real-time data drawn from real usage, not guesses or projections, means tailoring policies that reflect (and respect) employee wants and needs — without spending extra on underutilized bells and whistles.

Want to know how much your
company could be saving with
the right hybrid work strategy?
Meet with a member of our team.

Real-time workplace usage data helps Heads of Real Estate and Workplace customize and refine workspace solutions based not only on the important factor of employee preference, but on actual need and usage.

Your partner in a future-proof workspace strategy

Upflex maintains the world’s largest network of on-demand flexible workspace for remote workers to choose from if they need quieter space, more amenities, or better connectivity — and we’ve built an efficient, user-friendly way to tap into that network. But first and foremost, Upflex is data-driven. Our central focus is our technology platform, and at its core is actionable data and insights.

We work with mid-size to enterprise companies to rethink their workspace strategy and customize solutions based on budget and needs. In this new future of work, there is no “one size fits all” — so our team of workspace strategy experts helps you iterate until it’s working perfectly.

Ready to learn more? Meet with a member of our team.