Cost Savings on Office Space Has Some Drawbacks

By Sarah Needleman
Wall Street Journal

The office cubicle is shrinking, along with workers' sense of privacy.

Many employers are trimming the space allotted for each worker. The trend has accelerated during the recession as employers seek to cut costs and boost productivity.

"The majority of our clients are moving in the direction of reducing the amount of personal, or what we like to call 'me' space," says Tom Polucci, group vice president and director of interior design for HOK Group Inc., a global architecture and design firm.

He says new workstations designed by HOK average 48 square feet, down from 64 square feet about five years ago. Partitions between cubicles also are shrinking, to 4 feet high or less, from 5 feet high.

Rivals Stantec Inc., DEGW, Mancini Duffy and M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates Inc. report similar findings. They say companies of varying sizes in multiple industries are reducing per-employee office space by as much as 50%, and their total footprint by as much as 25%.

Some companies are removing cubicle walls to create open floor plans. Others are eliminating assigned workspaces for employees who primarily work off campus or spend most of their time in meetings. At any given time, Gensler estimates that 60% of employees are away from their desks.

In September 2008, MetLife Inc. moved roughly 1,200 employees to a 300,000-square-foot office in Manhattan, 25% smaller than their previous 400,000-square-foot building in Long Island City, N.Y. Cubicles are 40 square feet, down from 64; offices are 100 square feet, down from 150. Common areas such as conference rooms and lounges increased by about 20%, and roughly 300 employees no longer have assigned desks. "We'll find them a place to work and get connected," says John Vazquez, the insurer's vice president of corporate services.

With help from Gensler, MetLife sought to make the smaller workspaces more useful. Mehmet Ozpay, a MetLife assistant vice president, says his new 100-square-foot office feels roomier than his old space because it offers more storage and has glass walls.

"It promotes more interaction," Mr. Ozpay says, adding that mostly solid panels had blocked views in or out of his old office. "If [co-workers] see that you're not immersed in a conference call, they can walk in or make a hand signal to ask if you're busy."

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