Unused Spaces and a Lack of Meeting Rooms – the Consequence of an Unclear Workplace Strategy
Without a shared understanding of the role of the office, it also becomes more difficult to make the right decisions about the workplace.
– Many organisations start with the physical solution when they should really start with the needs of the organisation. Before discussing square metres and floor plans, there needs to be clarity about what the office should contribute and which ways of working it should support, says Henrik Axell, Head of Workplace Strategy at Kinnarps.
When spaces do not match needs
Many offices are still designed for a different time and a different way of working. At the same time, many organisations made rapid changes after the pandemic. Offices were expected to become more attractive and inspiring, with a focus on meetings, collaboration and social interaction. In the process, one crucial activity was overlooked - individual high-focus work. Many decisions were based on assumptions about the future of working life rather than facts about the organisation's actual needs.
In both cases, the result is an office that does not provide the right balance between different workspaces. Some spaces remain empty while others are overloaded. Meeting rooms, for example, are used by individuals for digital calls or focused work because more suitable environments are lacking. Large rooms are occupied by one person while others struggle to find somewhere to hold a meeting. This shows how a workplace can simultaneously have both unused space and a shortage of the right environments.
Kinnarps' office report puts figures on the problem. 51% believe that office space is not used efficiently, 70% find it difficult to find an available meeting room and 45% find it difficult to concentrate in the office.
– The challenge is rarely how many square metres an organisation has, but whether it has the right workspaces, in the right place and in the right amount. Every square metre needs to create value for the organisation, says Henrik Axell.
Henrik Axell, Head of Workplace Strategy at Kinnarps.
Strategy and analysis need to come first
A clear workplace strategy, based on an analysis of the organisation's needs, creates a shared direction and makes it possible to plan the right environments.
– There are no standard solutions. My colleagues and I have met hundreds of organisations with similar questions but with different needs and conditions. The workplace needs to be developed based on the organisation's own goals, culture and ways of working, says Henrik Axell.
Insights from 7 742 office workers
Kinnarps’ report Next Office® Insight, published in September 2026, brings together current insights into how today’s workplaces are used and experienced – and the needs shaping the future role of the office.
The report is based on workplace analyses conducted between 2023 and 2026 and covers 7,742 office workers across the Nordic countries, primarily from medium-sized and large private-sector companies, as well as national, municipal and regional public-sector organisations. The analyses were conducted during a period when many organisations were rethinking both ways of working and the role of the office.
