Befimmo
Office Barometer — 2nd edition
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[Future of working]BE / 2026

Office
Barometer

Belgians want to go to the office. Layout makes the difference.

Initiated by
Befimmo
Edition
2026 / 2nd
Research
iVOX / Belgium
Scroll to explore ↓befimmo.be
Befimmo office floor, Belpaire
Vlaamse Overheid offices at ZIN
Key findingsA selection

Why the office still wins.

Collaboration, concentration, connection — the office earns its place.

Befimmo office, staircase
Index07 chapters
01Back to the office, for two generations at once↗ 02Layout makes the difference, and it is measurable↗ 03A gap between employees and students↗ 04Meetings still win, in-person↗ 05Coworking still convinces the next generation↗ 06HR directors and CFOs on AI↗ 07Methodology↗
Chapter 01 / Return

Back to the office,
for two generations
at once

Two colleagues working together at the office
33%↑ 8 PP
of workers say they never want to work from home again, an 8-percentage-point increase on last year
18%↑ 8 PP
of students say they want to come into the office every day, an 8-percentage-point rise
59%↑ 9%
of workers no longer have a fixed home-working day this year, up from 50% last year
55%↑ 9%
of workers now never work from home, compared with 46% a year earlier
Employee working at her desk in an open-plan office
22%↓ 6%
of workers still work from home on Fridays, historically the classic remote-work day, down from 28%
2.5%↓ 5.5%
of students now prefer full-time home working, down from 8% last year

Two independent samples moving in the same direction, and by the same magnitude, making the return to the office the clearest trend in this edition of the Barometer.

WBE offices at Pacheco, Befimmo
WBE offices at Pacheco
Fig. 1.1The reasons for coming into the office
cite collaboration and connection with colleagues as their main reason41%
cite access to better equipment21%
value the ability to keep work and private life separate19%
Chapter 02 / Layout

Layout makes the difference,
and it is measurable

26%↓ 9 PP
of workers feel their office layout supports creativity, down 9 percentage points compared with last year
42%↓ 5 PP
of workers say it supports teamwork, down 5 percentage points compared with last year
Befimmo office, bar and lounge area
32%↓ 7 PP
of workers say it supports the ability to find quiet space, down 7 percentage points compared with last year
64%
of workers in offices combining open and closed spaces say they can concentrate, compared with 33% in a flexdesk environment
51%
of workers in an open space with flexible seating say noise and distraction affect their productivity, compared with 37% on average
12%
of workers currently work in this type of combined environment
Enclosed focus booths beside an open-plan floor
Fig. 2.1Open + private vs flexdesk
Average
Open + private
Flexdesk
Concentration
47%
64%
33%
Layout stimulates teamwork
42%
60%
38%
Layout stimulates creativity
26%
32%
18%
Able to find quiet space
32%
45%
30%

Workers in environments combining open and closed spaces score significantly higher than average on every single measure.

ONEM offices by NABS
ONEM offices by NABS
Chapter 03 / Generations

A gap between
employees and students

Fig. 3.1Students vs workers
consider good public transport accessibility important in an office
Students
77%
Workers
50%
say sustainability initiatives influence their choice between two employers
Students
71%
Workers
45%
value proximity to shops
Students
43%
Workers
29%
value proximity to bars and restaurants
Students
38%
Workers
27%

Anyone designing tomorrow's office today would do well not to approach these two generations in the same way.

Bicycle parking at a Befimmo building
Escalators up to a Befimmo building
Chapter 04 / Meetings

Meetings still win,
in-person

35%
of workers think there are too many meetings
Silversquare meeting table, Antwerp Tower
6.1/10
is the average "digital fatigue" score given by those who meet online
Speaker addressing an audience at a Befimmo event

The routine online meeting is under pressure, rather than meetings as a whole.

1%
meet exclusively online, compared with 32% who meet exclusively in person
73%
explicitly choose a face-to-face meeting for an important conversation with a client or external partner
81%
among 18-34 year-olds choose face-to-face meetings for an important meeting
7.6/10
is the score given for how much physical client contact strengthens the business relationship

Physical meeting space makes a demonstrable strategic difference.

Fig. 4.1Demand
25%of employees book an external meeting room themselves or know this happens within their company
37%cite a lack of internal space as the main reason
33%do so to create a central meeting point for geographically dispersed teams
Fig. 4.2Expectations for meeting rooms
a mid-sized room for 5 to 8 people
55%
on-site IT support
47%
coffee
44%
basic technology such as an interactive screen or smartboard
38%
simple wireless screen sharing
37%
catering directly in the room
36%

Demand for external meeting rooms is real, but two practical barriers hold it back: 37% cite the rental price as too high, and 29% cite a booking process that is too slow or complex.

Befimmo meeting room
Chapter 05 / Coworking

Coworking still convinces
the next generation

Fig. 5.1Students
69%
of students have shown enthusiasm for coworking for two years running
55%of students value a better atmosphere
36%of students value a more collaborative environment
33%of students value access to relaxation spaces
Fig. 5.2Employees

Among employees, opinions on coworking are less pronounced this year. This shift is therefore driven mainly by a growing group with no strong opinion, rather than by increased resistance.

38%of current employees have a positive view of coworking this year
31%of current employees have a negative view
32%have no opinion on it, up 6 percentage points

French speakers, younger employees and those with higher education levels remain the most positive.

Silversquare coworking space
Chapter 06 / AI

HR directors
and CFOs on AI

Befimmo also surveyed 50 HR directors and CFOs on the impact of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

Fig. 6.1Skills loss versus job loss
32%fear skills loss more than job losses among employees who use AI on a regular basis
14%fear job losses or reduced roles more than skills loss
24%see both risks as equally significant
30%see little risk either way

When forced to choose between two risks, skills loss weighs heavier than job loss.

Fig. 6.2Critical thinking
40%expect a negative influence on employees' critical thinking
40%expect a positive influence
20%expect no influence at all
52%of those who fear skills loss point to critical and analytical thinking, ahead of writing skills (48%) and problem-solving ability (48%)
46%expect AI to mainly reduce repetitive work
38%expect a productivity gain

Opinion on AI's effect on critical thinking is split exactly down the middle, though concern runs deep among those who expect a negative impact.

Fig. 6.3Employment outlook
38%expect a fall in the number of full-time roles over the next three years
48%expect no change
60%estimate that 1% to 20% of today's roles will fundamentally change or disappear within five years
16%expect a bigger impact
10%expect AI to mainly replace jobs outright
30%foresee a shift in tasks rather than job losses
32%foresee a combination of both effects
36%fear their own role could eventually be partly or fully taken over by AI

Uncertainty about AI doesn't spare the decision-makers themselves.

Speaker addressing an audience at a Befimmo event
07 / Methodology

The Office Barometer is an annual survey conducted by Befimmo. This year, the survey was carried out online by iVOX between 3 and 13 July 2026, among 1,000 working Belgians, representative by gender, age and level of education, as well as 200 students. The maximum margins of error are 3.02% and approximately 6.9% respectively, at a 95% confidence level. An additional online section was carried out between 19 and 26 August 2026, among 50 Belgian HR managers and CFOs.

Initiated byBefimmo
Carried out byiVOX
Fieldwork3 to 13 July 2026
Workers1,000
Students200
HR managers / CFOs50
Margin of error / workers3.02%
Margin of error / studentsApprox. 6.9%