Within the constantly evolving landscape of modern work, a new phenomenon has been rising for a number of years. Coworking is challenging the traditional norms that are associated with more conventional offices.
Coworking spaces are here to stay thanks to a number of key points. It’s a continuation of the trends that arose following the return to work after months of working from home in 2019 and 2020. Since then it has continued to evolve and grow.
Today, coworking spaces are popping up around the country. And they have redefined the way we all approach work. Read on and learn more about the reasons why coworking spaces are both the present and the future of the industry.
What Does Coworking Space Mean?
Before digging into the meat and bones of just why coworking spaces are here to stay and not going anywhere anytime soon, it’s important to dig down into just what one is. It’s entirely possible, without even fully realising it, that you are working in a coworking space right now.
A coworking space is a colourful and curated mixture of controlled chaos and collaboration, all in a celebratory and communal setting. It’s a mosaic of innovation and ideas — people from all walks of life, with all sorts of ideas and concepts, all converging under the one roof with the aim of growing and developing their business away from the tedium of conventional offices.
Coworking spaces are a breeding ground for ideas that are allowed to dance around in an environment built to complement and nurture them. You’re surrounded by the hum of productivity and innovation, all punctuated by the sounds of espresso machines and the chatter of new ideas being formed.
Gone is the substandard sterility of corporate confinement. In their place, you find a warm and welcoming expanse of shared desks and rooms adorned with art and furniture that defies expectation and convention. If the workday grind can be punk without betraying the core premise of the movement, coworking spaces are definitely punk.
Why Coworking Spaces are The Present and the Future
If you were to walk into one and ask somebody why the model works for them, you’ll likely get a number of different responses. This can stem from the diversity and flexibility they offer, as well as the ability you have to find like-minded individuals to create lasting working and personal relationships with, and much more.
There are several reasons why coworking spaces are here to stay. This includes:
Diverse Spaces with Unique Perspectives
In the world of coworking, you can find a wide variety of different wants, needs, backgrounds, and perspectives. Step through the doors and you can find yourself met with a CEO pitching for their future as well as a fresh faced junior marketing executive straight out of university looking to make a name for themselves. You can be sitting next to a writer focused more on what’s going on outside the window while they look for inspiration, or a freelance designer hammering away at their keyboard, headphones on, lost amongst a panorama of pixels and potential.
Not only that, but a coworking space will attract people from across the world. All creeds and religions are represented in these judgement-free spaces. A good coworking space is a den of creativity, a melting pot of ambition where you can get by with just a laptop and a latte. It’s a space where all are welcome and all are encouraged.
Coworking doesn’t judge. These spaces can represent exactly what you want it to represent. It can be an example of just how you want the world to be, all within four walls.
Forge New and Lasting Relationships
Any space in the world that attracts great numbers of similarly-minded people has the potential to spark new relationships — a coworking space is no different. We consider Use.Space to be a den of serendipity, a place where chance encounters in the kitchen or the cafe could quickly lead to a partnership, business and personal, that could last a lifetime.
Coworking is a microcosm of the world we live in every single day. It’s a melting pot purpose built to bring people together, a testament to human nature and our eternal search for connection in an increasingly digital world which can leave us longing for something more tangible.
If you google what benefits one coworking space has over another, you’ll see reams of bragging about speedy Wi-Fi connections, comfortable spaces, hammocks, a climbing wall, an executive chef, a virtual reality boardroom, an aurora borealis in the loos, etc. etc.
However, the true selling point of these spaces is more primal than that. It’s about the connection between two human beings — the exchanging of ideas, putting heads together to spark innovations.
Flexible Spaces to Flourish
The last few years have been tough on business. They have seen a one-two punch between Covid-19 pandemics and then the ongoing increase in prices across the board during the cost of living crisis.
In the rollercoaster of business downsizing and cost-cutting have, unfortunately, become commonplace in recent years. Business owners are forced to try to remain flexible if they want to protect themselves against the unpredictable.
With all this in mind, finding a space where the fabric of your space is able to bend and mould to the exact needs of your business is imperative. It’s an inevitability of business, you will gain employees, you will lose employees — it’s totally par for the course. With this in mind, why are traditional office spaces so unsuited? The rigidity of these office spaces scoff and snigger at the concept of these necessary changes. On the flip side though, coworking is designed to embrace the ebb and flow that comes with running a company.
Think of your business like water — it’s fluid, constantly in motion. The office space should act as the container — allowing the water to adapt itself to the space however it needs. With coworking, lugging desks and office chairs around the city to new locations are a thing of the past. Like a chameleon in a kaleidoscope, within these four walls you are able to freely shift depending on your needs.
This is the future of the office. It’s a world where you aren’t confined to the rigid limits of a static business address. You are empowered to adapt and adjust, to bloom or retract like a delicate dandelion or water lily reacting to the comings and goings of the sun.
Learn More About Why Coworking Spaces Are Sticking Around
Like any good thing, there will always be sceptics and naysayers out there who say that coworking spaces are simply a fad, a bubble about to burst. However, these people are missing the primary point of the concept. Co-working spaces are not a trend. We believe that they’re the natural evolution of the workplace, directly in line with our constantly changing relationship with work and the spaces we inhabit each and every day.
In a world where technology threatens to completely isolate us, the rise of co-working is an opportunity to open up new avenues of collaboration.
When you walk into a coworking space for the first time, do so with an open mind. These spaces are glimpses into a future where the boundaries of work can blur, where innovation and creativity thrive. It’s a working revolution draped in colour, with the faint aroma of fresh coffee.
Coworking spaces are here to stay. Begin your journey at Use.Space and learn more about why they’re going nowhere today. Contact us to find out more.