Being locked into four walls for five years is no longer a strategy. It’s a risk.

In an economy where teams expand and contract, hybrid work is the norm, and capital must be allocated carefully, the traditional office increasingly feels like an anchor rather than an engine. Yet many companies still sign long-term leases as if the world were predictable. For businesses today, using resources efficiently is essential. Rent remains one of the highest fixed costs on the balance sheet, and the traditional lease model is under growing pressure from shifting work patterns and changing market dynamics.

The traditional lease model: certainty that costs flexibility

The conventional lease is built on stability. Multi-year terms. A fixed number of square meters. Upfront investments in fit-out, IT infrastructure, furniture, and facilities.

But stability comes at a price.

The moment the contract is signed, room to maneuver disappears. If your team grows faster than expected, you run out of space. If your organization shrinks or part of your workforce shifts to hybrid work, you end up paying for empty desks. At the same time, real estate advisors point to a structural shift: as hybrid work becomes mainstream, CBRE expects demand for office space in major urban markets across Europe and the U.S. to decline by approximately 8.7% by 2030 compared to previous forecasts. Hybrid and flexible work patterns are permanently reshaping space utilization.

The implication is clear: fewer fixed offices required, more organizations re-evaluating their options, and a fundamental reassessment of how workspace is structured.

What shared office space really is

Shared office space often referred to as coworking, serviced offices, or flexible workspace combines shared infrastructure with individual workstations and business facilities. This model emerged when companies realized how much of their space went unused. Empty meeting rooms. Half-occupied desks. Entire areas sitting idle while flexibility became increasingly important. Shared office space did not arise from community idealism. It arose from inefficiency.

In almost every traditional office, 20–40% of the space sits structurally unused. Meeting rooms occupied only a few hours per day. Desks left empty on Fridays. Private offices half full.

That is capital destruction measured in square meters. Flexible workspace reverses that logic:

• Space becomes a dynamic service instead of a static asset.
• You don’t pay for potential.
• You pay for usage.

That fundamental difference makes the model future-proof.

Additional strategic advantages

Flexible offices often provide high-quality amenities such as advanced IT infrastructure, secure networks, and optional support services particularly valuable for small businesses and startups that want a professional setup without heavy upfront investment.

There are also growing network effects. Tenants share a building with other professionals, creating opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange, talent sharing, and business development. The office becomes more than a workspace, it becomes an ecosystem.

Is it suitable for everyone?

No. Companies with highly confidential operations, specialized technical installations, or significant storage requirements may not always fit within a shared model. Organizations that use their office primarily as a branded experience center or showroom may also benefit more from a fully dedicated location.
However, for a growing number of businesses, the traditional lease model no longer aligns with today’s reality.

The question is no longer whether shared office space works. The question is who can still afford to operate as if it’s 2010.