A new survey points to the significant cost savings being realized by hybrid workplaces — more than $10K per employee — suggesting that during a downturn, economic pressure may push more firms to downsize their already shrinking real estate footprints.

A new survey released by Robin, a flexible workspace software platform, asked 247 business owners and facilities managers about their hybrid plans, opinions and strategies.

The results suggest significant cost savings can be found with a hybrid setup. Of the firms that responded to the survey, 83%, went hybrid as a cost-saving measure and 73% said they would shift to hybrid as a cost-saving measure before resorting to other actions such as layoffs.

It is another example of office space decoupling from jobs and overall productivity, a shift that should worry office landlords. The survey also found that office spaces were already shrinking, with 46% of respondents saying they only used half of their available space, and 60% of those using less space had already downsized during the pandemic.

And it is poised to get worse. When asked, 46% of respondents said they will cut their space, with 59% of those saying they would cut at least half their current square footage.