Room raiders: The office upsizing epidemic

Tiny teams hogging big rooms leave large groups stranded—welcome to the new war for meeting space!

Four professionally dressed coworkers stand with their backs to the camera, facing a glass-door to a large conference room labeled “SUPERSIZE.”

There’s a quiet heist unfolding in offices everywhere—and the culprits aren’t stealing staplers. They’re stealing square footage.

It’s called meeting room upsizing and it’s as sneaky as it sounds.

Here’s what’s happening: employees are grabbing larger meeting rooms, even when the appropriate size space is available. For example, when just three people are meeting, there’s a better-than-even chance they’ll grab a room designed for five or more. Apparently, empty seats are the new power flex.

According to our sensor data, solo workers and dynamic duos are the worst offenders—claiming oversized rooms 50% to 59% of the time. And no, it’s not because all the smaller spaces were taken. In reality, right-sized rooms weren’t available just 3% of the time. That’s not a lack of options—it’s a land grab.

Want more insights like this? Check out More space, less waste: 6 ways occupancy sensors change the game.

Meanwhile, larger teams—those noble bands of five to ten—are getting the short end of the stick. They’re out there hunting for a room, only to find the Goldilocks-sized ones taken. In fact, they’re left stranded without the right space on their floor 30% of the time.

So, why does this all matter? Well, smaller teams spreading out like they’re at a beach resort means bigger teams could get locked out, forcing them to hold crucial conversations in even larger spaces, open spaces or micro kitchens when their colleagues are walking by. Not ideal.

We haven’t officially cracked the case yet, but we’ve got some theories. Maybe it’s leftover social-distancing etiquette from the pandemic days. Or maybe folks just love a bit more elbow room for snacks and laptops.

Workplace managers, brace yourselves: the battle for meeting spaces is officially on.

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