Sarah - Author
In this office dimensions guide you’ll see standard & average office sizes, cubicle-like office and minimum office measurements, and how big an office should be.
Offices are where many people exert physical and mental strength to finish their work, and an ergonomically arranged office is the key to making sure that not only is the job done, but it is done efficiently. Aside from people working in brick and mortar offices in cities and countries, many people are also working from home, which calls for a total overhaul of a specific space.
Home offices offer more flexibility with not just renovation but the space. This is another ballpark when it comes to the essentials of an outside office which allot a specific space requirement per employee.
Standard Office Size
A standard office is a single workstation with a desk, chair, and enough space to accommodate any visitor. An office can also be either freestanding or linked with other offices in a cubicle-like arrangement. The latter is the usual with an open concept layout with cubicles, especially for offices on high-rise buildings in the city.
The space for a single cubicle is usually a width from side to side of 110.25 inches or 2.8 meters and a length from the front of the table to the chair space of 70.85 inches or 1.8 meters. This allows space on each side of the table of 23.6 inches or .6 meters.
Standard Home Office Size
There is no fixed size for a home office since it can either have more than enough or just enough room to work with to hold a desk and chair setup.
Although they will vary significantly in size from one home to the other, the average for any home office is a space of 50 to 150 square feet.
A smaller home office can only be 30 square feet; at the same time, bigger homes can have home offices as big as 200 square feet. Overall, it will depend on the type of work a person is dealing with, their amount of office equipment and the space they have available.
Office Space for 5 People
In an open floor plan office, a specific space is allocated equally for each worker, and that is more or less space of 175 square feet per person and a space of 100 square feet in open workstations.
With these measures in mind, it is easy to compute the size needed for each person to work in a given space ergonomically.
Like home offices, the space needed will also vary significantly in the nature of each person’s work. A call center agent will require less space than architects, who will need a lot of room for every size of blueprint they will examine.
Office Space for 10 People
Each person or amenity in a workspace will require an ample amount of room to be able to do their required functions. Another reference is considering how efficient or generous businesses are ready to allocate space.
A space of 100 square feet for one person will allow a desk space of 50 square feet and another 50 square feet for communal areas for a single person. More specifically, the perfect space for ten people in an office is a space of 450 to 650 square feet or about 42 to 60 square meters.
Office Space for 20 People
Space will differ in the ideas each business owner would want their employees to have. High-density workspaces for smaller offices with many employees will allow an area of 80 to 150 square feet per employee.
The average density will have space for each of them at 150 to 250 square meters, while a spacious office can have each employee have an average area of 250 to 500 square feet.
To know how much office space is needed for a 20-person office, multiply the desired area for each employee headcount. Let’s say that an office wants to allow an area of 100 square meters for 20 employees, totaling 2000 square feet of space for 20 employees.
Small Office Dimensions
The smallest office space is most often office cubbies. Cubbies are small office rooms with a minimum area of 70 square feet, big enough to house an office desk, a cabinet, and a chair.
Most small office spaces will be square rooms 5 by 5 feet in dimension, while bigger ones can extend to 8 by 8 feet. There are also extremely small spaces that are used, such as kitchen office nooks or other multi-use spaces like an office living rooms.
Minimum Office Size
The minimum space for an office outside the home is 5 by 5 feet of square space big enough to house a desk and a chair, plus a small file cabinet and accessories.
Anything smaller than this size is considered a small home office. Some rooms can be so small that using a stool stored under a table is the only way to close the office door in a smaller space.
Minimum Office Space per Person
Space per employee in an office will vary in location. In common areas, a space of 80 to 100 square feet for each person is advisable, while this number will go down to 25 to 30 square feet for each employee in conference rooms.
How Big Should An Office Be?
Open workstations can be as big as 90 to 110 square feet or more, depending on the layout and size of the space. Larger spaces are beneficial for providing room for wider desks, shelving and storing supplies.
For executive offices, these numbers will go up to 90 to 150 square feet or bigger and will vary according to the duties and work of the person using the office. Read more about the size of a desk on this page for help determining your needs.
How Far From The Wall Is A Desk Placed?
A desk against the wall is a space-saving option for spaces with insufficient floor space, especially for homes. Still, in the traditional office setting, a particular dimension should be followed to ensure that the person using the room will not feel cramped in the area. This clearance space should be 5 feet from the wall to the desk.
Should An Office Desk Face The Wall?
There are pros and cons to pushing a desk to face the wall, and each office worker should consider them before deciding. Sometimes, space will also be a factor, and the only choice is a desk against the wall, and this is the case for most cubby-size office spaces.
Visit our guide to home office built in ideas for more related content.
