Work is no longer a place. We make dinner reservations from the office and take conference calls from the dinner table. A movement is taking shape, called the rise of coworking. It seems it is a logical extension of office as a service.
Written by Winnie Liu
A recent study found that 71% of workers feel more creative in a coworking space, with 68% declaring that they can focus more. It enables independent work in a designed space, with a defined culture, and larger organisations are increasingly adopting it too.
As coworking grows, you will find a hierarchy of models that emerge. At the mid premium level you will find a ‘love and esteem’ equivalent of collaborative spaces. At the most basic level, you would find a desk, chair and internet to go with it.
This evolution from a mere desk and chair to a curatable community will only continue, as professionals grapple with changes in when, how, and where we work. Women only coworking spaces are on the rise too. And the entirety of this move towards online distributed and independent workers, is, since the industrial age, the biggest shift of employment. Back in the days, it would be moving for proximity to location, whereas now that the constraints are lifted, coworking will allow for more results-focused and flexible work.
The UK, US, and Australia currently hold the titles for being the largest developed coworking markets, with places such as India, China, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore, France and Italy being the largest emerging markets.
With ease of contracts as little as one month, such pre-cabled offices with great amenities are often available to move into from the day you sign! This not only offers the opportunity for expansion but networking and collaboration opportunities. You will often find a start-up culture around such areas. For example, Campus London finds about 1000 customers through their doors each week and as so has built quite a Fintech culture around its surroundings.
Here are some considerations when choosing a shared office space:
- Amenities – be sure to enquire about extras such as conference facilities, projectors, etc.
- Atmosphere – will you be able to focus there?
- Fast internet – you’d surely want a reliable internet that is up to speed.
- Perks – Some premium perks include a gym, free lunch, or even beer!
- Security – This ties in with 24/7 access? Find out the working hours so you can coordinate effectively.
- Hidden costs – printing, kitchen space, meeting rooms.
- Trial periods – if available, do test out the space to see if it fits your requirements.
So, in other words, it is no longer about age or location, but rather a changing scene that moves just as fast as the technological one. A recent Harvard study suggested that when getting people to ‘collide’ whether that be via planned or chance encounters, the interactions would benefit both sides of the party, both inside and outside of the organisation with better performance. For example, if you are a digital marketer, connecting with a top class programmer may just be the key to getting out a great product into the world, that the world would otherwise not know about!
A cool feature about some coworking spaces are the workshops that run, for example on how to run a blog, if you are too introverted for one of these chance encounters. You are, remember, amongst some of the most brilliant and creative minds on the ground, so make the most of it!
Featured Image: © Shridhar Gupta
