How many square meters of office space per employee

Calculating the right area helps you avoid paying for excess metres — or being cramped six months later. There is no universal figure, but there are working benchmarks.

Basic norms

In practice, open-plan layouts allow about 5–6 m² per workplace and cellular offices 7–9 m². Sanitary rules set a minimum around 4.5 m² per computer workstation, but that is a floor, not a comfortable norm.

Gilyarovskovo 10s1 — office space in Moscow — Gilyarovskovo 10s1 — ulitsa Giljarovskogo, 10 b1

Golovino Plaza — office space in Moscow — Golovino Plaza — Pakgauznoe shosse, 1

What to add

Add meeting rooms, a kitchen, reception, a server room and storage — usually another 20–30%. For hybrid teams, count peak attendance rather than headcount.

Room to grow

Allow 10–20% for growth within the lease term: relocating costs more than a small buffer.