Survey shows office-based working on the rise

More offices are approaching capacity as hybrid working policies and practices firm up, CBRE’s fourth annual Office Occupier Survey shows.

Close to a third of Auckland office occupiers are now running at 80 to 100 per cent utilisation, which measures the proportion of workstations which are occupied during a typical work week.

Auckland’s 31 per cent of occupiers running at above 80 per cent office utilisation sits in between Christchurch, where 42 per cent of occupiers are in the upper bracket, and Wellington, which is at 19 per cent.

In some cases, peak in-office days are starting to test workplace capacity, said Zoltan Moricz, head of research at CBRE.

“For occupiers approaching the top end of the utilisation curve, there is now greater urgency to make sure current desk allocations, breakout spaces, meeting rooms and amenities can accommodate intensifying demand on peak days.

“While Auckland workplaces have more headroom to absorb higher utilisation than Christchurch, we expect more occupiers here will need to start conversations about whether their current leased footprint is going to adequately accommodate their workforce in the coming years.”

Rising utilisation will be most challenging for offices designed for the initial post-Covid environment, when working from home rates were higher.

Part of the pressure comes from a change in hybrid working habits, said Kirstin Cooper, associate director of workplace consulting at CBRE.

“Three days a week in the office is still the most popular hybrid working pattern for almost half of respondents nationally. However, there has been a move this year towards more people coming into the office full time. Five-day attendance has jumped from five per cent last year to 25 per cent in 2026.”

Nationally, office attendance (the average number of days a week staff spend in the office) has risen to 3.6 days, up from 3.4 last year. This is the largest increase in three years and the closest actual attendance has come to what organisational leaders say they want.

Just over three quarters of organisations now set hybrid working rules at an organisational level, up from 60 per cent in 2025. Actively enforced policies are the most common approach, used by 40 per cent of respondents, while non-enforced guidelines account for 28 per cent.

Mandated policies are evenly split at 27 per cent each between enforced and not actively enforced. Very few office occupiers report having no formal office attendance expectations.

Looking ahead, the market is shifting to firmer policies, with only seven per cent of respondents expecting to keep non-enforced guidelines, said Cooper.

“Organisations are taking the view that policies need to be actively enforced to make a difference to the time staff spend in the office, with a small but growing number moving towards linking office attendance to performance reviews and financial outcomes.”

Once again in 2026, floor space quality and functionality rate highly among the most desirable building and workspace features for office tenants.

Auckland occupiers ranked the quality of common spaces their top priority, followed closely by floor configuration and end-of-trip facilities.

A premium grade fit-out and seismic performance round out the top five most important amenities for occupiers in Auckland, said Campbell Pritchard, CBRE's national director of office leasing.

“The quality and functionality of floor space, interior design and end-of-trip facilities are now the top of Auckland occupiers’ wish lists. The buildings winning tenants are those which offer superior fit-outs, floor layouts, common spaces and top quality end-of-trip facilities - all of which help to earn the commute.”

- Supplied by CBRE