The average utilization rate measures how much of an office or specific workspace is occupied over a given period of time. It reflects the percentage of space used on average, helping workplace teams understand whether their office layout, size, and resources align with real attendance and work patterns.
In short, it answers a fundamental question: How much of our office is actually being used?
How to Calculate Average Utilization Rate
The metric is typically expressed as a percentage using the following formula:
Average Utilization Rate = (Total Occupied Space ÷ Total Available Space) × 100
This can be applied across different time frames hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly, and can cover a single floor, building, or entire portfolio.
Example:
If a floor with 200 desks has an average of 100 occupied desks throughout the week, the average utilization rate is 50%.
To gain deeper insights, organizations often combine occupancy data from multiple sources such as sensors, room bookings, and badge entries.
Why It Matters
Knowing your average utilization rate helps determine whether your workspace matches employee demand.
A low rate might indicate unused areas or an oversized office footprint, while a consistently high rate could signal overcrowding and a lack of flexibility.
Monitoring this metric enables organizations to:
- Identify underutilized zones that could be repurposed.
- Support real estate decisions like consolidation or expansion.
- Adjust cleaning, maintenance, and HVAC schedules based on actual use.
- Create a workplace that better supports hybrid work patterns.
When paired with peak utilization, it gives a fuller picture of how the office performs both at its busiest and over time.
Practical Use Cases
- Space planning: Reconfigure layouts or redistribute teams when certain zones remain below 40% average use.
- Hybrid policy refinement: Compare utilization across weekdays to understand attendance preferences.
- Portfolio optimization: Combine multiple sites’ average rates to assess which spaces to downsize or redesign.
- Operational efficiency: Align energy and service schedules with real occupancy levels.
Best Practices
- Measure across consistent time intervals (e.g., hourly) for accuracy.
- Segment by space type: desks, meeting rooms, collaboration areas, since utilization patterns vary.
- Combine average and peak utilization to capture both steady trends and bursts of activity.
- Use long-term averages (quarterly or yearly) for strategic planning, not just daily snapshots.
How Mapiq Helps
Mapiq makes it easy to calculate and act on average utilization insights. With Mapiq Insights, you can visualize occupancy trends across floors, teams, and space types updated in real time. Dashboards combine data from booking systems, badge readers, and sensors to reveal patterns that guide smarter space planning.
Teams can set thresholds to flag low-utilization areas, measure improvements after changes, and continuously refine their workplace strategy based on evidence, not guesswork.
The average utilization rate measures how a space is used over a longer period, typically giving an overall picture of space efficiency. In contrast, the peak utilization rate looks at the highest level of occupancy within a specific timeframe, helping to identify moments of maximum demand.
Improving the average utilization rate can be achieved by reconfiguring underused spaces, introducing flexible work arrangements, and utilizing tools like Mapiq to monitor and optimize space usage continuously.
A well-optimized utilization rate ensures that employees have access to the spaces they need when they need them, which can boost productivity. However, if spaces are overutilized, it can lead to overcrowding and discomfort, negatively impacting productivity.
Yes, Mapiq’s platform is particularly well-suited for hybrid work environments. It allows organizations to monitor and manage space utilization flexibly, ensuring that office spaces are used efficiently even when employees are not in the office full-time.
Mapiq provides detailed data and insights into space usage, allowing organizations to identify underutilized areas and optimize them for better efficiency. With features like real-time occupancy tracking and smart booking systems, Mapiq helps improve the overall average utilization rate by ensuring spaces are used more effectively and aligning them with employee needs in a flexible work environment.
Learn about the average occupancy peak, how it is measured, its benefits, and how Mapiq helps workplace leaders make data-driven occupancy decisions.
