Return to office policy template
- People in on an average day
- 108
- People in on the clustered day
- 158.4
- Desks short on that day
- 38.400000000000006
- Sharing ratio the policy implies, desks per 10 people
- 6.25
Every figure on this page is computed from the inputs entered, by the method stated below it. HardFM publishes no space standard, no square feet per person that any body recommends, no attendance rate and no insurance requirement: the desk ratio, the area per desk, the circulation allowance, the attendance and what a contractor must hold are your organisation's own figures and rules.
The figures above start from a worked example (108). Change any input and the answer updates as you type.
Download the Return to office policy template worked example (CSV)
This is a return to office policy template that works whether the rule the policy sets can be seated. Headcount times the days required over five is the people in on an average day; add the share of everyone else who also picks the busiest day and that is the clustered-day attendance; clustered attendance less desks is the desks short; the shared desks over the people who share them, times ten, is the sharing ratio the policy implies; and desks times five over headcount is the days a week the desks could actually support. Every input is yours and the template publishes no rule about how many days anyone should be in. Free, on the page, no account; the paid plan builds the policy document from the figures and keeps it.
The average day and the clustered day
180 people required in 3 days a week is 108 in on an average day. If 70% of the rest also pick the busiest day, that day sees 158.4. A policy that names no days produces the clustered figure, not the average, and that is the one the desks have to seat.
The desks short, and the ratio the policy implies
158.4 people on the clustered day against 120 desks is 38.4 desks short. With 20 desks kept assigned, 100 shared desks serve 160 people: 6.25 desks per 10. The template shows both so the rule and the desk count are decided together.
The days the desks could actually support
120 desks times five days over 180 people is 3.33 days a week, spread perfectly. A three-day rule fits only if the days are spread; a three-day rule with clustering does not, and the template says so before the policy goes out.
Return to office policy template: common questions
What should a return to office policy template contain?
The days required and whether they are named or free, the desk arrangement that goes with them (assigned, shared, or a mix), how a desk is booked, and the arithmetic showing the desks can seat the busiest day. The template works that arithmetic from your headcount, days, desks and clustering; HardFM Pro turns it into the document under your own name.
Why does the clustered day matter more than the average?
Because people choose the same days. 180 people at 3 days is 108 on average, but if 70% of the rest also pick the busiest day it is 158.4, and 120 desks cannot seat that. The template works the clustered figure so the policy is tested against the day that actually breaks it.
Is this free return to office policy template legal advice?
No. It works the desk arithmetic behind a policy from your own figures and builds the document from them. What the policy may require of employees, what counsel and HR must review, and what a lease permits on the floor are your organisation's questions; the template asserts nothing about any of them.
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Keeping what you make
The worksheets are free forever. Pro turns them into the record: every space and desk kept against the building with who is booked into it, the occupancy the floor sees week by week, every contractor cleared to be on site with the insurance, the induction and the date each expires, and every worksheet you save reopened under your own name.
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Cite or embed this figure
Return to office policy template (People in on an average day): 108, HardFM, worked example.
Cite as: "Return to office policy template, HardFM", updated 2026-09-05, https://hardfmly.com/tools/return-to-office-policy-template/.