Q1 2025 report: Office life’s back—but it’s complicated

After a few years of whiplash—remote-first, hybrid experiments, return-to-office pushes—the dust is finally settling. And what’s emerging? A new kind of workplace normal that looks… surprisingly busy.

In the latest of our Workplace Benchmark Report series, we looked at 30,000+ spaces across 44 global cities to see how the workplace evolved over the past year. What we found confirms the office is back—but it’s different.

Here’s some highlights from The Office, Unpacked about the state of work in 2025.

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📈 Utilization is up—and hitting new highs

In Q1 2025, average daily peak floor utilization hit 47%—up from 43% in Q1 2024. That’s the highest level we’ve recorded since launching the Workplace Benchmark report in 2023.

While that number might not scream “packed house,” it marks a steady climb back to in-person engagement—especially in industries like finance, real estate, and consulting.

📅 Tuesday still reigns as the office’s MVP

Tuesday is the most popular in-office day across our research set, with a 53% daily peak floor utilization rate on that day. Wednesdays and Thursdays trail just behind, while Mondays and Fridays still seem stuck in WFH-land. 

Fridays, in particular, are barely hanging on, with 28% occupancy. 

🔁 Hybrid is still here—but losing ground

Return to office isn’t just a headline trend anymore—it’s happening on the ground. The share of companies with consistent Monday-to-Friday attendance across at least two-thirds of their office floors jumped 8 percentage points this year, from 17% to 25%.

In total, 61% of organizations in our study now qualify as “fully RTO’d” (that’s four or more days per week in office). Hybrid isn’t dead—but it’s definitely looking over its shoulder.

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Is your industry a slacker or a go-getter?

The full report includes more findings on the state of the workplace in Q1 2025, including an industry breakdown of average floor utilization, average length of the day and average collaboration time per person. 

Is your industry coasting or crushing it? Access our report The Office, Unpacked to find out.