2025 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey

CBRE’s 2025 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey examines portfolio strategies and office attendance policies for companies across the U.S., Canada and Latin America, including efforts to align workspaces with hybrid work models while meeting business objectives.

More Organizations Achieve Desired Office Attendance

Ninety percent of respondents have specific expectations for office attendance. These expectations remain consistent with 2024, with 77% expecting employees in the office three or more days a week. There was slight movement toward more time in the office, with 26% expecting 4-5 days a week in office, up from 23% in 2024.

Overall, employee behavior is also progressing to better meet attendance expectations. Seventy-two percent of organizations report that they are meeting their attendance goals versus 61% who reported the same last year. Companies expecting 1-2 days or five days per week in-office are more likely to achieve their goals than those requiring 3-4 days per week.

On average employers expect 3.2 days in-office per week in 2025—up slightly from last year—representing a commitment to hybrid work. Employees show up on average 2.9 days per week—a nominal increase over last year and very close to the average expectation of 3.2 days.

Figure 1: Employer Expectations and Achievement Rates for Office Attendance

Organizational Outcomes Vary Depending on Size

The largest companies (10,000+ employees) report the widest gap between expectation and actual show-up rate (3.1 versus 2.5 days). This suggests that large employers face greater difficulties in aligning expectations with employee behavior given the scale and complexity of their organizations. Conversely, small companies (<500 employees) report no gap between expectation and attendance (3.4 days).

Figure 2: Average Office Attendance Days

Measurement and Enforcement of Policy Common

Eighty-five percent of organizations report communicating an attendance policy, up from 80% last year, continuing an upward trend over the past several years. CBRE’s 2025 Outlook for Office Attendance reported the lack of an attendance policy and associated enforcement was the primary barrier they faced in achieving greater office attendance.

Companies are clearly taking action to remove this perceived barrier as those measuring and enforcing their policies increased substantially year-over-year. Sixty-nine percent of organizations report that they measure policy compliance, up from just 45% in 2024, and 37% have taken enforcement actions, versus just 17% last year.

Figure 3: Office Attendance Policies and Adherence

Policy Enforcement Varies by Company Size

Small companies (<500 employees) lead these efforts, with nearly half of respondents reporting that they measure and enforce their policy. Notably, small companies are also the only group that reports no gap between attendance expectations and actual show-up rates.

Conversely, only 22% of the largest companies (10,000+ employees) report enforcing their attendance policy, which can at least partially account for the gap between expected and actual attendance rates. While a lack of enforcement may help explain lower attendance rates for large companies, facilitating in-person collaboration and culture can be difficult for larger matrixed organizations where teams are more likely to be distributed geographically versus smaller companies where the entire workforce is centralized in just a handful of offices.

Employer Desire to Increase Attendance Persists

While the majority of respondents report having achieved steady state, still 38% of organizations indicate they expect attendance to increase from current levels—up from 34% last year. This is likely the result of a doubling in share of organizations enforcing their attendance policies year-over-year. Large organizations (57%) and occupiers of Class A and prime office space (43%) were most likely to indicate expected growth in office utilization, while small companies (79%) and Class B/C office occupiers (68%) were more likely to indicate that they are at steady state. The latter cohorts also report that employee show-up rates were closely aligned to expectations.

Slower office-using job growth and lower employee turnover may embolden organizations to implement more stringent enforcement efforts than in years past, but organizations must weigh these priorities against efforts to retain top talent.

Figure 4: Expectations About Office Utilization Patterns, 2022-2025 Responses

Navigating the Peaks and Valleys of Office Attendance

Hybrid working patterns inherently create uneven office utilization throughout the week, which impacts employee experience and office culture, leading to a new set of challenges for corporate real estate professionals. Similar to last year, the majority of organizations (73%) report that office utilization on peak attendance days is effectively at capacity (61%-100% occupied). However, average attendance looks much different. Only 34% of organizations report office usage is at capacity on average—up from 28% last year—indicating that organizations are inching toward progress.

Large gaps between average and peak utilization are a key component to lack of office vibrancy on non-peak days. Organizations are increasingly focused on effective and purposeful workplaces, and bridging the gap between average and peak utilization is a central strategy to solve for uneven employee experience throughout the week.

Figure 6: Peak vs Average Weekly Office Utilization

Unassigned Seating Maintains Favorability

In 2025, only 25% of companies report using only assigned seating—down from 40% in 2024 and 56% in 2023. This reflects the shift in workplace planning toward unassigned seating. Hybrid work is driving corporate real estate professionals to think about effectiveness and efficiency of the workplace, bringing into question 1:1 seating assignments for employees who only frequent the office on a part-time basis. Small companies (<500 employees) diverge with this trend, as 46% report a workplace strategy of assigned seating versus only 9% of all other companies. With small companies much more likely to report employee attendance requirements of 4-5 days a week, this trend isn’t surprising.

Unassigned seating is growing in popularity with 75% of companies today reporting this model for at least some of their employees. However, only about 30% have more than three-quarters of their staff operating in unassigned seating.

Figure 8: Share of Employees Working in Unassigned Desk Environment

Employee-to-Desk Ratios Projected to Grow

Of the three-quarters of companies seat-sharing today, more than half of them report conservative people-to-seat ratios of less than 1.5:1. Over the next two years respondents plan to expand the boundaries of this modest ratio. By 2027, 73% of respondents suggest they will have people-to-seat ratios of more than 1.5:1. Supporting this trend, Part 4 of the 2024-25 CBRE Global Workplace & Occupancy Insights Series states that “this shift is not just about space utilization; it’s a fundamental recalibration of how we work. As we have untethered from the office, the employee-to-seat ratio has risen sharply.”

Figure 9: Employee-to-Desk Ratio

Organizations Continue to Leverage Flexible Office Space

Organizations are leaning into innovative workplace strategies through myriad solutions, including flexible office space. This trend is a reminder that occupiers are eager to explore space solutions that vary from a traditional lease. In 2025 occupiers intend to grow their adoption of flexible office space but most still report that less than a quarter of their portfolio will be dedicated to it. This result is on par with previous years.

Figure 10: Allocation of Flexible Office Space in Portfolio

Largest Companies Incrementally Adding to Flexible Office Space

While most of the largest occupiers (>10,000 employees) are already using at least some flexible office space today, more than half report having less than 10% in their portfolio. Use of flexible office space is expected to incrementally grow in the future among the largest occupiers. Yet most expect it will remain a small portion of the portfolio —less than 25%.

These companies report using flexible office space for more operational reasons, such as reducing capital expenditures and solving for uncertain demand. However, more than one-third use it to offer employees meeting and collaboration space on demand.

Figure 12: Allocation of Flexible Office Space in Portfolio (Large Companies)

Largest Organizations Most Likely to Continue Downsizing

The largest companies (10,000+ employees) remain the most likely to downsize, with 60% planning space reductions compared to just 18% of all other respondents. The reasons for these reductions vary, but the most common include addressing pre-pandemic inefficiencies in real estate portfolios (67% for large organizations versus 37% among all other respondents), adapting to increased hybrid work (67% for large organizations versus 79% among all other respondents), and meeting targeted expense reductions (56% for large organizations versus 47% among all other respondents).

Figure 15: Reasons for Portfolio Contraction

Smallest Companies Most Likely to Anticipate Expansion

The growth outlook among small companies has improved over the past year: 96% of small companies (<500 employees) intend to maintain or expand their portfolios over the next three years, compared to 85% who responded similarly last year. Tenants with small requirements will continue to drive transaction velocity and shape future leasing activity. In H1 2025, small leases between 10,000 to 20,000 sq. ft. accounted for more than half of all transactions.

Most respondents (83%) planning to expand are doing so to accommodate increased headcount driven by organic business growth, with large occupiers being the most likely to expand for this reason (94%). About 19% of all respondents say they plan to expand their portfolios due to over-contraction during the pandemic or increased return-to-office activity, compared to 29% of large occupiers. Another 15% of all occupiers attribute their expansion plans to the need to support evolving workplace design standards and programs.

Figure 16: Reasons for Portfolio Expansion

Varying Tenant Motivations Shaping the Future of Leasing

Occupiers generally undertake one of three types of portfolio strategies, which are shaping office leasing activity and influencing broader market trends:

1. Operations-Driven Tenants focus on improving operational efficiency through portfolio optimization. These occupiers often consolidate into fewer, more strategic locations to streamline workflows and enhance oversight. In general, the largest companies (10,000+ employees) fit in this profile.
2. Cost-Driven Tenants prioritize reducing expenses to improve the bottom line. They are more likely to renew existing leases or downsize, through renewals or new leases, to minimize capital expenditures and ongoing occupancy costs. In general, larger companies in primarily Class B/C space are primarily driven by cost.
3. Experience-Driven Tenants aim to enhance the employee experience to support talent attraction, retention, and performance. These occupiers are more inclined to relocate in search of buildings with better amenities, services, and locations that align with employee preferences. Typically, these are occupiers that have a primarily Class A and prime portfolio, and are often in financial and professional and business services fields with people who spend the most time in the office.

Motivation for Renewals Remains Relatively Elevated

Preference for lease renewals remains strong, with 86% of respondents indicating plans to renew—slightly down from 92% in 2024. This shift is reflected in the gradual decline in the share of renewals over recent quarters, signaling a slow but steady change in occupier behavior. Still, renewals continue to represent a relatively high share of U.S. leasing activity, accounting for approximately 40% of total volume—up from about 30% in 2018 and 2019.

The reasons for renewals include a combination of experience, operations and cost leading the strategy. Fifteen percent of all occupiers are renewing due to a lack of suitable relocation options, a figure that rises to 22% among large occupiers, underscoring current market constraints.

Renewals are more favored by the largest companies (10,000+ employees), with all indicating they would pursue renewals versus 73% of small companies (<500 employees). Cost management is a leading reason large occupiers renew, citing a desire to avoid expenses related to relocation and build-out of new space.

Figure 17: Primary Reasons for Renewing in Place

Relocations Driven by Many Factors

Rather than trying to stay and fix outdated or ill-fitting spaces, 77% of respondents are considering relocating to secure more flexible lease terms, smaller spaces and lower rents (cost-driven), better amenities or improved locations for employees (experience-driven), or to centralize into fewer buildings (operations-driven).

Among the largest companies (10,000+ employees), 73% cite better lease terms as the primary reason for relocating. Landlords, recognizing the long-term value of securing these major tenants, are increasingly offering generous concessions—such as rent abatements and tenant improvement allowances—to close transactions and ensure stable future occupancy. In addition to cost, about 50% of large occupiers report signing new leases to consolidate operations into fewer office buildings, compared to just 7% of all other respondents.

Meanwhile, 54% of small companies (<500 employees) are selecting buildings based on amenities and services, highlighting the influence of experience-driven motivations in this segment. Given that small firms are often more centralized and tend to have higher in-office attendance, it’s logical that these occupiers prioritize making the workplace commute-worthy.

Figure 18: Primary Reasons for Relocating

Availability of Desired Space a Concern

Nearly half of all respondents express concern about the availability of their desired space over the next three years, despite U.S. office vacancy rates hovering near a historic high of 19%. This concern spans all building classes but is most pronounced among occupiers of primarily Class A and Prime space, with 56% expressing concern, compared to 42% of those concentrated in Class B/C buildings. The results reflect strong demand for quality buildings in desirable, connected and walkable locations at a time when new construction has largely stalled. As a result, prime vacancy nationwide is now more than 4.4 percentage points lower than non-prime vacancy. Space is notably limited in key submarkets such as Midtown Manhattan, Preston Center in Dallas, Santa Clara in Silicon Valley and Uptown Charlotte.

Figure 19: Concern About Availability of Quality Space Over Next Three Years