2026 Workspace
Trends Report.

The office isn't disappearing. The way we choose it is changing.

The workplace debate used to sound like a binary choice: home or office. Real working lives are messier—and more interesting. A project meeting, a day of concentrated work and a client visit rarely need the same room.

In Gallup's May 2026 measurement, 52% of US employees in remote-capable jobs worked hybrid, 26% worked exclusively remotely and 22% worked on-site. These are work arrangements, not coworking membership figures. They help explain why choice and adaptability matter, but they do not measure how many desks were rented. [1]

Three signals worth following

The hybrid reality: one workweek, different needs.

Hybrid work has become a lasting arrangement for many people whose jobs can be performed remotely. That does not mean every worker wants the same schedule—or that every company will use coworking. It means a fixed desk for every employee, every day, is no longer the only model worth considering.

Gallup also reported in its September 2025 analysis that hybrid workers spent about 46% of their workweek in the office, equivalent to roughly 2.3 days. This is a survey finding about hybrid employees, not a recommendation for every team. [3]

Practical implication: map out the team's real workweek. Which days require face-to-face collaboration? Who needs a quiet room for calls? Who needs access to a location near clients? Then choose the workspace format that matches those needs.

What flexible space solves—and what it doesn't.

Flexible workspace is not just a smaller version of a traditional lease. For some organizations it is a way to avoid a large upfront fit-out. For others it offers temporary capacity, a new-city foothold or a place to meet when distributed colleagues come together.

In CBRE's 2025 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey, respondents cited reducing capital expenditure (60%), addressing uncertain demand (42%) and obtaining meeting or collaboration space on demand (39%) as reasons for using flexible office space. The survey covers participating occupiers across the Americas, not a representative count of US coworking customers. [4]

The same CBRE report cautions that flexible space can be expensive on an annual per-seat basis. Its fees may also bundle rent, services, operating costs and fit-out that a traditional lease bills separately. A useful comparison therefore looks at total cost, commitment and services rather than headline rent alone. [4]

Twelve cities. Twelve different workdays.

A city name is only the beginning of a workspace search. In a large metro, two neighborhoods can mean two completely different commutes. The city explorer below is an editorial guide to questions worth asking—not a measured ranking of coworking demand.

City notes are qualitative planning prompts, not local market statistics. Workspace availability and directory coverage may change; verify each location's details.

Beyond the coworking desk.

“Flexible workspace” can mean a seat for one afternoon or a furnished office for a growing team. The right choice depends less on the label than on what your workday asks of the space.

Do not assume every listing offers every format. Confirm the actual product, pricing and availability with the operator before making plans.

The geography of the workday.

Convenience is not a decorative perk. In the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey commuting data, the mean one-way US commute was 27.2 minutes, and 9.3% of workers had a one-way commute of at least 60 minutes. These are national commuting figures—not coworking customer travel times. [2]

For a team meeting twice a week, the right workspace may be a transit-connected hub. For someone seeking quiet work near home, a neighborhood location could make more sense. Neither choice is universally better.

Make the decision easier before the first inquiry.

People comparing workspaces are trying to picture a normal Tuesday—not just an impressive lobby. A useful listing answers practical questions early: what the room looks like, where it is, how it can be used and what happens next.

These are BestCoworking editorial recommendations, not findings from an operator survey. They are designed to make listing information easier to understand and compare.

Watch the decisions, not just the headlines.

There is no single “future of the office.” Work arrangements vary by job, organization and local context. What matters next is how employers translate those arrangements into real estate decisions—and whether flexible providers can deliver spaces that match them.

These are topics to monitor, not forecasts of occupancy, prices or market winners. The 2026 calendar year is not complete as of this report's publication.