Chapter 2
Workplace
New Zealand Office Occupier Sentiment Survey 2026
The office is filling up again. Are workplaces keeping pace?
The return-to-office debate has dominated headlines for years. But beneath the surface, a different trend is taking shape. Across New Zealand, organisations are seeing workplace utilisation rise, attendance patterns evolve and employee expectations shift.Based on insights from 67 occupiers representing more than 22,000 employees and 283,000 square metres of office space across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, our latest survey reveals how workplaces are adapting to a new phase of occupancy, demand and investment.
Workplace utilisation is entering a new phase
Utilisation is intensifying, with Christchurch leading
Nearly a third of occupiers now operate above 80% utilisation, up from 24% in 2025 and 18% in 2024.Office utilisation, the share of workstations occupied during a typical work week, continues to climb. The 40% to 60% band remains the most common (33% of respondents in 2026), but the share operating at 80% to 100% is showing a consistent growth trend.
Christchurch is the standout, with 42% of occupiers operating at 80% utilisation or higher, compared with 31% in Auckland and 19% in Wellington. The Christchurch reading is consistent with its office-centric attendance culture and its newer, more efficient office stock.
For occupiers approaching the top end of the utilisation curve, the practical questions are becoming urgent: are current desk allocations, neighbourhoods and shared amenities enough to absorb intensifying demand on peak days? Rising utilisation coincides with a growing share of five-day attendees, and the two together will test the design assumptions of workplaces built for lighter, more flexible use.
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Contact Us
Kirstin Cooper
Associate Director, Workplace Consulting, New Zealand
Campbell Pritchard
National Director, Leasing - Office, New Zealand
