Flexible office

The flex ratio: the key figure to calculate

The “flex ratio” refers to the number of workstations per employee. It is the first parameter to define when transitioning to a flex office setup.

• 1:1 ratio: One workstation per person. This isn’t a flex office; it’s the traditional model. Each employee has “their own” desk, assuming they use it every day of the week. This setup is rare in companies today, especially among younger ones

• 0.8 ratio: 8 workstations for 10 employees. The conservative starting point. Suitable for companies with one day of remote work per week and minimal travel. Risk of overcrowding on busy days.

• Ratio 0.7: 7 workstations for 10 employees. The most common standard. Works well with 2 days of remote work and a reservation policy. This is the ratio most French companies will adopt in 2025–2026.

• Ratio 0.5 to 0.6: 5 to 6 workstations for 10 employees. Aggressive. Requires a structured remote work policy (3+ days/week), a reliable booking tool, and a variety of spaces (quiet zones, phone booths, collaborative spaces). Highly cost-effective, but if poorly executed, it leads to frustration.

How to calculate it for your business: Analyze your time card or attendance data over a 3-month period. Identify the average attendance rate AND the peak attendance rate (often on Tuesday or Wednesday). Your flex ratio must account for peaks, not just the average. If your average attendance is 65% but rises to 85% on Tuesdays, a ratio of 0.7 will be too tight; aim for 0.8.

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How to successfully transition to a flex office: 7 steps

1. Measure before deciding. Install occupancy sensors or analyze badge data for 8 to 12 weeks. Without data, you’ll be guessing. You’ll pay for it either in empty spaces or frustrated employees.

2. Diversify the spaces. Flexible office works only if employees find the environment suited to their current task. In fact, the proportion of common areas is more important for employee well-being.

3. Invest in acoustics. This is the number one reason why flex offices fail. A noisy open space drives employees to flee to remote work. Carpet, sound-absorbing panels, partial partitions, acoustic booths. These investments are non-negotiable.

4. Implement a booking system. If the occupancy rate falls below 0.8, a booking system becomes essential to avoid morning chaos. There are several solutions available on the market, such as Deskare; the tool must be simple. If the booking process takes more than 30 seconds, no one will use it.

5. Set the ground rules. Mandatory clean desk policy (leave nothing on your desk when you leave). Personal lockers for belongings. Priority rules in case of high occupancy. These rules must be developed collaboratively with the teams to ensure compliance.

6. Communicate and train. The flex office is a cultural shift, not just a change in furniture. Organize informational workshops, appoint “flex ambassadors” per team, and plan for a 2- to 3-month transition period with a more comfortable occupancy ratio.

7. Iterate after 3 months. Gather feedback (anonymous survey + actual occupancy data). Adjust the ratio, redesign areas that aren’t working, and add phone booths if calls are disrupting the open space. The flex office is a living system, not a one-time project.

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Common pitfalls of the flex office

The “flex office facade.” The company is removing the names from the offices but isn’t changing anything else: no variety of workspaces, no booking system, no lockers. Employees “squat” at the same desks every day, and the project is seen as a step backward disguised as modernity.

Managers being overlooked. Managers often need a fixed location to be identifiable and accessible to their team. Forcing them into a flex office without considering their spatial role creates disorganization.

Undersized meeting rooms. In a flex office, informal meetings (2–3 people) skyrocket. If you only have rooms for 8+ people, they will be monopolized by pairs, and there will be no room left for actual team meetings.

Lack of monitoring. Many companies implement the flex office model and never measure its effectiveness. The result: poorly configured spaces for months on end, silent frustration, and a quiet return to assigned desks.

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The impact of the flex office on your space

The flex office has a direct real estate consequence: it frees up square footage. A company of 100 people that shifts from a 1:1 ratio to 0.7 theoretically frees up 30% of its workspace. In practice, some of the space is repurposed (more meeting rooms, informal areas), but there is often still 15 to 20% of excess space.

This freed-up space raises a practical question: what to do with it? Return it to the landlord (if the lease allows it), leave it empty (costly), or make the most of it by opening it up to other companies. It is on this last point that operators like Sora come into play: transforming surplus spaces into managed offices, without subleasing, through a service delivery model that does not require the landlord’s consent.