Day-Use Lockers vs. Traditional Lockers: What's Right for a Hybrid Office
Assigned lockers assume everyone comes in every day. Hybrid teams don't — which is why day-use, dynamically assigned lockers serve more people in less floor space.
5 min read
How assigned lockers break in a hybrid office
Traditional office lockers assume that every employee has a desk and comes in every day. Each person gets a locker, and that locker sits waiting for them whether they are in the office or not.
Hybrid work breaks that model. If most people come in two or three days a week, a large share of assigned lockers sit empty on any given day, holding a forgotten umbrella or nothing at all. Facilities teams end up paying for floor space that serves no one, while employees who need a locker on their office day may not have one.
Assigned lockers also come with admin: issuing and recovering keys, cutting padlocks, and clearing out lockers when people leave. With hot desking and hoteling, where no one owns a desk, that overhead makes even less sense.
How day-use assignment works
Day-use lockers are assigned for the day, not forever. An employee arrives, picks any free locker at the kiosk or on their phone, stores their laptop bag, coat or gym kit, and opens it again during the day as often as they need. At the end of the day the locker is released for the next person.
Because lockers are shared across the week, you need fewer lockers for the same headcount. As a simple illustration: if 300 people share an office and peak attendance is about 60% on the busiest day, you plan for roughly 180 people in the building, not 300. Size the lockers for that peak, plus a small buffer, rather than one per employee.
Keyless access removes keys and padlocks entirely. Employees use a code, their phone or the touchscreen kiosk, and facilities staff can see which lockers are in use and open one remotely if someone needs help.
Privacy, laptops and IT requirements
Office lockers often hold laptops and personal items, so people need confidence that only they can open their locker. Each rental is tied to one user, and the system records when a locker was opened, which helps resolve any dispute without guesswork.
Talk to your IT and security teams early. Common questions include what user information the system stores, how access is granted and removed when someone leaves, and how the lockers connect to the network. We work through these questions as part of the proposal so the setup fits your policies.
Many offices also use lockers for internal deliveries, such as handing out equipment or holding items for collection, which keeps the front desk free.
Choosing between the two
Assigned lockers can still make sense for teams that are on site every day, such as operations or lab staff who need a permanent space for kit. Day-use lockers suit everyone else: hybrid staff, visitors, contractors and anyone using bookable desks.
Smart lockers can do both at once. Some lockers can be set aside as long-term assignments while the rest of the bank runs as day-use, and the split can change as your attendance patterns change.
The practical way to decide is to look at your badge or desk booking data. If peak attendance sits well below headcount, day-use lockers will serve more people in less space.
Run the numbers for your venue
Open the ROI calculatorCommon questions
- How many day-use lockers do we need?
- Plan for your peak daily attendance rather than total headcount, plus a small buffer. Desk booking or badge data is the best guide.
- Can some lockers stay permanently assigned?
- Yes. A bank can mix long-term assigned lockers with day-use lockers, and the split can be changed in software.
- What happens if someone forgets to release a locker?
- Staff can see locker status and release or open lockers when needed, so lockers don't stay blocked.
Where this applies
See how smart lockers are deployed in the venues this article covers.
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