"Why does somebody need to pay for all that square footage if they only have half the employees any given time?" Jaafar asked. Employers already are providing employees with desks and other furniture for their homes, she said.
Ricker expects big changes.
"You can imagine a 30 percent reduction in space," he said. Companies will look to downsize once leases expire or repurpose space they own.
The JLL survey tells a different story. It found that 73 percent of the companies surveyed expected to occupy the same amount of space when they return.
Companies need to leave themselves flexibility, Robinson said.
"Spaces are going to have to be a lot more flexible and adaptive," she said "They cannot be fixed. We're planning for the unknown."