Return of assigned seating for most public servants bucks private-sector trend

The federal public service is committed to increasing assigned seating, even as the private sector moves in the other direction. Photo by TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIA

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The shift toward more assigned seating for public servants bucks the prevailing trend among private sector employers who are increasingly embracing unassigned workstations and hybrid work, observers say.

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The shift away from shared workspaces — or hoteling — makes sense in the context of a four-day return-to-office, CBRE director of workplace strategy Brianna Van Der Mark said, but it runs counter to the current trend in the private sector.

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“(The private sector) is definitely moving towards more unassigned seating,” she said. “That’s a fairly consistent trend over time, across industries.”

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According to a 2025 report from CBRE, a commercial real-estate services and investment firm, private-sector employers are increasingly turning to unassigned workstations.

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The report, based on surveys of CBRE clients, found just 25 per cent of companies used only assigned seating last year — down from 40 per cent in 2024 and from 56 per cent in 2023.

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The rate of unassigned seating is driven largely by how often workers go into the office, Van Der Mark said.

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The average private-sector organization in North America is currently sitting at about three in-office days per week, according to CBRE data, although hybrid-work practices can vary significantly between teams.

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Under a three-day hybrid-work arrangement, most organizations will move to desk-sharing, Van Der Mark said. The approach allows employers to cut down on real-estate costs while ensuring every employee has a workstation.

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But at four or five days in office, unassigned seating becomes untenable. CBRE typically doesn’t recommend it.

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“Four days a week you can get away with a very, very small sharing ratio,” Van Der Mark said. “At five days a week, you absolutely cannot introduce desk sharing.”

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Assigned seating springs from meetings with unions, government says

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Desk hoteling is currently widespread in government office buildings and was touted for years as a solution to help shed office space.

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According to an Ottawa Citizen data analysis, at least 50 per cent of staff at nearly 40 departments and agencies in the core public administration did not have assigned workstations in 2024.

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In a May 22 email to public servants, Treasury Board said the current effort to increase assigned seating was springing from meetings with unions.

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“These discussions also underscored the value of assigned seating to enhance collaboration among teams,” the email read.