Nordic Employers Settle on Three Office Days as Competition for Prime City-Centre Space Intensifies, Finds CBRE

 Helsinki – 7 October 2026 – AI is changing what offices are for rather than emptying them. Tech and AI companies are emerging as the fastest-growing office tenants.  

Three in four (76%) Nordic employers now want their staff in the office at least three days a week, up from 67% a year ago. Yet only around half (51%) are achieving that level of attendance. Both findings come from CBRE's Nordic Office Occupier Sentiment Survey 2026, which captures the views of 54 real estate decision-makers across Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, more than half of them representing companies with over 10,000 employees.  

The office remains a social place. Nordic employees come in above all to work with colleagues (89%), followed by access to a productive workspace and engagement with leadership (both around 80%) and a convenient location (71%). Two thirds (66%) of employers now accept current attendance as a steady state, up from 47% last year. This is a notable contrast to the public debate in several Nordic countries, where large employers are pushing for more office days.  

Attendance is concentrated on a few popular days: offices reach 72% occupancy on peak days but average only 47% across the week. Rather than relying on attendance mandates, companies are increasingly sizing their offices around peak demand and the quality of the workplace experience.

AI will change what offices are for – not empty them

57% of Nordic occupiers expect AI to influence their space requirements within the next two years. While half (51%) expect AI to affect headcount and space needs, experience from earlier waves of technological change suggests such concerns tend to be overstated, with workers moving towards higher-value tasks rather than being displaced.

Instead, AI is raising the bar for what an office must offer. Nearly half of occupiers expect to need specialised spaces such as AI labs (49%) and multipurpose, reconfigurable layouts (44%), while 41% expect AI to increase their use of flexible space. At the same time, AI companies themselves are becoming a new source of demand. They are the fastest-growing occupier segment, already accounting for 3% of European office take-up, and are targeting prime, central offices. In Stockholm, more mature AI firms are already moving from flex space into conventional offices as they scale.  

Only 27% of occupiers plan capital spending to reposition or transform their offices, while divestment is concentrated in non-headquarter space. In the Nordics, landlords typically fund fit-outs and recover the cost through rent. Higher interest rates mean capital is increasingly focused on flagship buildings with the strongest occupier demand, placing growing responsibility on landlords and flex providers to deliver the quality the market requires.

Higher expectations meet limited supply

Occupiers are more demanding than ever. 82% would reject or leave a building that lacks an amenity they need (77% in 2025), and 71% would seek a discount if a valued amenity is missing. Only half (51%) would pay a premium when it is present.

Location remains non-negotiable: 87% of Nordic occupiers prefer the core or fringe city centre, with only 13% considering locations outside it. When costs bite, companies move to the edge of the city centre (58%) rather than leave it, reflecting the compact shape of Nordic capitals.  

Funding the upgrade is the sticking point. With 40% of occupiers targeting net zero by 2030, buildings without a credible sustainability pathway risk becoming obsolete. The average share of portfolios in flex space also fell from 21% to 17% over the past year, as occupiers find flexibility within conventional leases rather than dedicated flex arrangements.  

Jussi Niemistö, Head of Research, Nordics at CBRE, said:  
"AI is not emptying Nordic offices. It is changing what they are for. As AI takes over routine tasks, knowledge workers move towards work built on judgement, collaboration and learning from each other, and that still happens best face to face. At the same time, tech and AI companies are the fastest-growing group of office tenants, and they are choosing central, high-quality offices. In our view, AI complements the office-based knowledge worker in the Nordic capitals rather than replaces them."  

Niko Penttinen, Head of Leasing, Finland at CBRE, said:  
"Large employers are no longer asking how much office space they need, but what the office must deliver to earn the commute. More than eight in ten would reject or leave a building that lacks an amenity they need, yet only half are willing to pay extra for it. Attendance has settled, so portfolios are now being sized for the busiest days and the quality of the experience, not for headcount."  

*CBRE's Nordic Office Occupier Sentiment Survey 2026 includes responses from 54 office occupiers across the Nordics and is part of CBRE's European Office Occupier Sentiment Survey 2026. The full report is available here Nordic Office Occupier Sentiment Survey 2026.