Office and workplace spaces

When renting, planning, and furnishing the office, you should be clear about the required office space in advance. The respective size depends on a variety of factors. How many employees will be working in the office? What activities will be carried out? What rooms are needed in addition to workstations? In addition, occupational health and safety regulations place demands on companies. In this guide, we summarize the legal requirements.

The most important specifications at a glance

• Office space from work spaces in principle:
  • at least 8 m² per employee for one workstation.
  • at least 6 m² for each additional workstation
• In practice:
  • Workplace in cellular offices: 8 to 12 m²
  • Workplace in an open-plan office: 12 to 15 m²
• Movement area at the workplace
  • at least 1.50 m² movement area
  • Depth and width at least 1.0 m
• Clearance height of offices
  • depending on floor space
  • at least 2.50 m

What legal requirements apply to office space?

Occupational safety is regulated in several legal provisions. The Occupational Health and Safety Act obliges employers to ensure that employees can perform their work without endangering their physical and mental health. It is irrelevant whether the workplaces are located on the employer's premises or in a home office.

Regarding the furnishing and design of office spaces, the German Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV) contains minimum requirements regarding safety and health protection. Concerning the room dimensions and movement areas in the office, it states:

1.2 Dimensions of rooms, air space

• (1) Work spaces, sanitary, break and standby rooms, canteens, first aid rooms and accommodations must have sufficient floor space and a clear height that is sufficient depending on the size of the floor space of the rooms, so that employees can use the rooms or perform their work without impairing their safety, health or well-being.
• (2) The dimensions of the rooms depend on the type of use.
• (3) The size of the necessary air space must be determined depending on the type of physical stress and the number of employees and other people present.

3.1 Movement area

• (1) The free, unobstructed area at the workplace must be dimensioned in such a way that employees can move freely when carrying out their work.
• (2) If this is not possible, employees must have another sufficiently large movement area available near the workplace.

Further requirements on the specifications of the Workplace Ordinance can be found in the Technical Rules for Workplaces (ASR). Points 1.2 and 3.1 ArbStättV are specified in ASR A1.2. There you will find minimum specifications for the required office space per employee or workplace.

Link to the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: ASR A1.2 Room dimensions and movement areas

Office size: How much office space is required per employee?

Workspaces and offices must have "sufficient floor space and height" to ensure safety and health protection.

Irrespective of other factors:

• Each workspace must have an office area of at least 8 square meters.
• For each additional workstation, an additional 6 square meters must be available.

In addition to the number of workstations, sufficient floor space is derived from other factors.

• Additional space for movement must be provided for employees at every workstation.
• Areas for traffic routes must be taken into account. Traffic routes that also serve as escape routes must have a minimum width of 0.875 meters. Other traffic routes, such as those to the heating or the window, must be 0.5 meters or more.
• Work equipment such as laptops & monitors and furnishings require appropriate floor space.
• Functional surfaces, such as doors or drawers on office cabinets that can be opened, require additional space.
• Safety areas must be planned in order to maintain the necessary safety distances.

The required office space results from these aspects. In practice, the following values have proven to be good calculation sizes:

• Cellular offices: 8 to 10 m² per workstation
• Open-plan office: 12 to 15 m² per workstation

Movement areas in the office – What size does a workplace need?

Sufficient space for movement must be available for employees at every office and screen workstation to enable them to change their working posture and perform compensatory movements during work. This area must be at least 1.5 m².

Movement area at the workplace

The following factors also apply to the depth and width of the movement area:

• For working while sitting and upright standing: 1 m each
• For working in a bent posture: Depth at least 1.20 m
• Several workstations next to each other: Width at least 1.20 m

Minimum distances for multiple workstations

In addition, movement areas must not overlap with other areas.

Office height: How high do work spaces have to be?

In addition to floor space, offices must also meet minimum requirements in terms of headroom. The specifications are determined by the freedom of movement for employees, the use of the workspaces, technical requirements such as the space required for ventilation and lighting in the office and other requirements for the well-being of employees. Based on this, ASR A1.2 specifies the following minimum heights, subject to further special regulations:

• up to 50 m²: at least 2.50 m
• over 50 m²: at least 2.75 m
• over 100 m²: at least 3.00 m
• over 2000 m²: at least 3.25 m

Definition of relevant terms

Different terms are used both in the Workplace Ordinance and in the Technical Rules for Workplaces. Below is an example of the floor space of a workstation in an office and a brief explanation of what is meant by the terms (source: ASR A1.2)

Red: Movement area

Green: Functional area

Blue: Traffic area

Movement area

Movement areas are contiguous, unobstructed floor areas at the workplace that are at least necessary to enable employees to change working postures and make compensatory movements during their work.

Freedom of movement

Freedom of movement is the contiguous, unobstructed space at the workplace that is at least necessary to enable employees to change working postures and make compensatory movements during their work.

Traffic area

Traffic areas include aisles leading to workplaces and occasionally used operational facilities (heating, windows, power supply). These are routes that serve to provide unimpeded access to the respective areas.

Parking spaces

Storage areas are the floor areas required for work equipment (e.g. raw materials and supplies, products of the respective work step, work chairs, work trolleys, tool containers, lifting equipment), installations, equipment and other objects (e.g. waste), regardless of whether they touch the floor or not.

Functional areas

Functional areas are the floor areas covered by moving parts of equipment, fixtures, and fittings.

Safety surfaces

Areas for safety distances are the floor areas at workplaces, work equipment, fixtures and fittings that are required to avoid hazards to employees.

Do you need help planning your office?

Ensuring compliance with all occupational health and safety regulations can quickly become very complex. Our employees are happy to assist you with setting up your office at any time. Arrange your personal consultation now.