Workplace Management in the DACH Region 2025: What the Latest Studies Really Show

Key Takeaways

• Global office occupancy rose from 38% (2024) to 53% (2026), the highest level since March 2020 (CBRE, 2026)
• According to PwC/RealFM, 65% of facility management leaders in the DACH region do not use AI in their processes (PwC/RealFM, 2025)
• With a revenue volume of $88 billion (2023), Germany remains the largest facility services market in Europe (PwC, 2025)
• Almost all studies measure space, occupancy, and satisfaction — yet hardly any track whether companies actually know which mobile assets are located in these spaces

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What exactly is workplace management?

Workplace management encompasses the planning, control, and ongoing optimization of office spaces, workstations, and their associated equipment — from occupancy planning and desk-sharing models to the management of furniture, conference technology, and mobile equipment. Unlike pure facility management, which focuses on buildings and technical systems, workplace management is primarily geared toward the needs of the employees. In practice, however, the two disciplines overlap significantly, especially when it comes to the equipment that is actually placed and moved within these spaces.

The current state of research in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland paints a nuanced picture of this development. We have evaluated the most relevant surveys from the past twelve months.

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How heavily are office spaces actually being used in 2025/2026?

Average global office occupancy is now at 53%, the highest level since March 2020 and a significant jump from 38% in 2024 (CBRE, 2026). Peak occupancy is even averaging 80%, which shows that companies are increasingly organizing specific collaborative days in the office.

Particularly striking: 69% of surveyed companies state that more than 40% of their workforce shares workstations, and 96% now have a clearly defined office policy — usually requiring a minimum presence of three days per week (CBRE, 2026).

The European occupier perspective confirms this trend: companies are increasingly struggling to balance demand throughout the week and provide enough workstations on peak days (CBRE European Office Occupier Sentiment Survey, 2025).

What is the current average office occupancy rate in the DACH region? Globally, office occupancy reached 53% in 2026, a significant increase from 38% the previous year. This is driving pressure to allocate space and equipment more flexibly, rather than tying them to specific locations or teams. This is exactly where Asset Intelligence comes in, by providing visibility into where mobile equipment is actually located and how it is being used.

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How digital is facility management in the DACH region really?

The joint Facility Management Monitor 2025 from PwC, RealFM, FMA Austria, and SVIT FM Switzerland is currently the most reliable DACH-wide survey, as it is the first to involve all three national professional associations. The findings on digitalization are sobering: 65% of respondents state that they do not use AI in their field at all, and another 24% use it only occasionally.

There is also a clear regional disparity in user satisfaction. While 67% of users in Austria and 60% in Switzerland are satisfied with the services provided by their FM providers, the figure in Germany is only 42% (PwC, 2025).

‍How many facility management professionals in the DACH region use AI? According to the Facility Management Monitor 2025, 65% of respondents do not use any AI tools in their field at all, and only 4% use them regularly or extensively. Before AI-supported processes can even take effect, a reliable data foundation regarding the physical assets themselves is required—exactly the gap that an asset intelligence platform like seventhings fills.

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How large is the facility services market in Germany?

The German facility services market remains the largest in Europe. In 2023, the revenue volume was 88 billion US dollars, an increase of five percent over the previous year. By 2027, service providers and users expect this to rise to 101 billion US dollars, representing an annual growth rate of four percent (PwC, 2025).

This trend is confirmed on the provider side: the 25 leading German facility service companies grew by 7.8% in 2024 to a total revenue of 18.7 billion euros, as shown by the 2025 Lünendonk study (Blink.de, 2026). At the same time, staff shortages and a noticeable lag in digitalization are slowing down the pace of growth.

Is the facility services market in Germany growing despite the digitalization lag? Yes. Revenue volume is projected to rise from 88 billion US dollars (2023) to 101 billion US dollars (2027), even though staff shortages and a lack of digitalization are considered limiting factors. It is precisely this contradiction—a growing market coupled with a weak data foundation—that highlights why asset transparency is becoming a competitive factor, as seventhings enables for mobile, non-networked assets.

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The blind spots: What the studies don't show

What is striking about almost all current workplace studies is what they don't talk about. They measure space, occupancy, and satisfaction—but hardly any survey asks whether companies even know which furniture, conference technology, or mobile devices are located in these spaces. In conversations with facility and workplace managers from medium-sized companies, the same pattern emerges time and again: space planning is now data-driven, but the equipment within those spaces is still predominantly managed via Excel lists or not at all.

This also explains why desk-sharing models often get off to a bumpy start in practice. When 40% or more of the workforce shares workstations, as CBRE reports for many companies, the associated equipment also constantly moves between locations and rooms. Without a reliable overview of furniture, projectors, and mobile technology, a clever space concept quickly turns into an expensive loss and procurement problem.

Why is good space planning alone not enough? Because space utilization and asset transparency answer two different questions. High office occupancy says nothing about whether the right number of projectors, conference technology, or furniture is available at the right locations. seventhings creates exactly this connection between the space and asset levels, without the need for IoT sensors.

Anyone looking more closely at how to effectively manage equipment across multiple locations will find practical approaches in our Guide to Furniture and Equipment Management .

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What now?

1. Start an inventory: Check whether your current space planning is linked to a reliable overview of the equipment it contains—or whether the two are running separately.
2. Identify gaps: Use the free Asset Potential Analysis by seventhings to identify where unused or unrecorded equipment is located within your workplace areas.

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Frequently asked questions about workplace management in the DACH region

What will the average office occupancy be in 2026?

According to CBRE, global office occupancy is at 53%, up from 38% in 2024. Peak occupancy on busy office days averages 80%, indicating that companies are actively managing attendance.

How many companies in the DACH region use AI in facility management?

According to the 2025 Facility Management Monitor, only 4% of respondents use AI regularly or extensively, while 65% do not use it at all. Before implementing AI, a reliable data foundation regarding physical assets is essential.

What is the difference between workplace management and facility management?

Workplace management focuses on the use of workspaces from the employee's perspective, such as occupancy and desk sharing. Facility management additionally covers building services and maintenance. Both disciplines overlap in the management of furniture and mobile equipment.

Is the facility services market continuing to grow despite the lag in digitalization?

Yes. According to PwC, the German market is expected to grow from $88 billion (2023) to $101 billion (2027), even though staff shortages and low levels of digitalization act as limiting factors.

Why is space utilization alone insufficient as a metric for workplace management?

Because it says nothing about the availability and condition of the equipment within those spaces. High occupancy without asset transparency often leads to shortages of conference technology, furniture, or mobile equipment in high-traffic locations.

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Conclusion

Current studies in the DACH region show that workplace management is in a state of transition: rising office occupancy and growing market volumes, yet still low maturity in AI and digitalization. What is missing from almost every survey is the question of the physical equipment itself—the furniture, conference technology, and mobile equipment that make any space usable in the first place. Anyone looking to make workplace management future-proof cannot ignore this asset level.