The New Office Economics

Why mid-sized firms are rethinking space, structure, and value.

The office used to be simple: Everyone came in. Everyone had a desk. Everyone worked the same way.

Now, every firm in the 20–200 range is juggling a different equation:

• hybrid expectations
• under-used square footage
• rising rent
• partner preferences
• regional property shifts
• culture vs cost

And every decision feels more permanent than it should.

The truth is that office economics have fundamentally changed - but not because people don’t want to come in. It’s because firms are still using pre-2020 reasoning to solve a 2025 problem.

The modern office isn’t about space. It’s about purpose.

The firms getting this right are asking:

• What work actually requires in-person collaboration?
• What work benefits from privacy or quiet?
• When does presence lift morale or stabilise teams?
• How do we create predictability without enforcing rigidity?

The best solutions aren’t expensive. They’re structured.

Regular anchor days. Clear expectations. Defined collaboration time. Intentional quiet time. Fewer, better “in-office moments.”

This creates a different kind of office: one that’s smaller, smarter, and used with intent.

A space that supports stability rather than symbolising it.

Mid-sized firms often feel forced into difficult decisions about their offices. But the truth is that most don’t need a radical answer - just a clear one.

Space becomes efficient when behaviour becomes predictable. And once behaviour becomes predictable, cost becomes manageable.

That is the new office equation.



- Sophie