8 Reasons Why Coworking Spaces Work

In a blog post last month, I referenced a recent report showing that while coworking space represents 5% of the office real estate market today, it is projected to hit 50% by 2030. 

Identifying the Reasons Why Coworking Spaces Work

There are a lot of different factors driving the adoption we’re seeing today and the expected value over the next eight years. In addition to lower costs, there are a lot of reasons why professionals are turning to coworking spaces. 

Benefit from Flexibility on Where You Can Work

A study by Conference Board found that just 4% of employers are requiring employees to return to the workplace full time, with 90% of employers allowing hybrid work schedules—from occasional visits to the office to a schedule of one to four days in the workplace. And while they are in a minority today, the number of businesses that are fully 100% remote is growing. A study by Owl Labs found that 16% of businesses indicate they have no office or headquarters.

And while many of these remote and hybrid work arrangements equate to work from home, not all of them do. Many organizations and individuals see coworking space as a viable option. In these instances, coworking space provides workers the flexibility to work from their home offices some of the time but from a professional office space on other occasions. Plus, as coworking space is available in thousands of locations, workers are not constrained to work from one location. For example, they have the ability to work in a location close to a site where they are meeting a prospect or client one day, and on the next day work from a coworking space that is close to their home for convenience.

Create Engagement for Those Who Feel Lonely

Although loneliness is not a problem for many remote and hybrid workers, it is a challenge for some. Before the pandemic, a survey by Gallup found that 21% of workers said their biggest struggle in working remotely was loneliness. After one year of the pandemic, a different survey of remote workers found that 7 in 10 felt more isolated than when they worked in the office and miss interactions such as face-to-face meetings (39%), office celebrations (35%), and after-work happy hours (34%). And while these numbers have decreased since then as more and more workers become acclimated to remote work, loneliness certain remains a challenge for some workers.

Coworking space provides remote workers an opportunity to spend one or two days a week in an office environment where they can interact with colleagues or simply with professionals from other companies. These interactions help them to recharge and mitigate feelings of loneliness via networking and face-to-face collaboration. 

Realize a Better Work-Life Balance

Studies show that employees who work for organizations that require them to work from a permanent workspace five days a week during a specified timeframe struggle with work-life balance much more than for those who have the flexibility of remote and hybrid work arrangements. Juggling the demands of modern families, aging parents, marriages with two working spouses, the need and desire for positive mental and physical health, and other related issues push work-life balance to the forefront for many professionals. A recent survey revealed that 39% of them listed work-life balance as their most important element. 

Working from home gives these knowledge workers the ability to make work-and-life issues a priority. Surprisingly, 83% of them said they have a positive work-life balance. This stands in contrast with responses pre-pandemic where work-life balance scored much lower—with fewer than one-quarter of knowledge workers indicating they had a positive balance between the two. Employers that want employees in an office environment—at least some of the time—can leverage coworking space as an alternative to a permanent office space. Employees can also select coworking spaces that are closer to their homes, helping to minimize the stress of a lengthy and stressful commute—time that they can spend with their families and spouses, exercising, tending to the needs of aging parents, taking professional or college courses, and other worthwhile activities.  

Leverage Great Technology and Services

Coworking space comes with a number of services and technologies that make it much easier for a professional to work. High-speed internet access is really important. Without reliable connections, virtual conference meetings are plagued by network disruptions and outages. Lobby greeters, who come with most coworking spaces, are the first person you see in coworking spaces and create a great first impression for your partners and customers when they come to meet you. Coworking spaces also have their own kitchens and come with on-demand meeting space that can be rented by the hour, half day, or full day. 

Reduce Your Commute

In some metropolitan areas, the commute to work each day is measured in hours. In addition to the detrimental impact on health, the environment, work-life balance, these long commutes waste valuable time. Coworking space is available in multiple locations in a metropolitan area, and companies often can select one that is closest to where their workers live. Thus, when workers do need to come to an office space to work or attend a meeting, the commute is significantly less when coworking space is used. 

Collaborating and Networking with Peers

Coworking space facilitates collaboration and networking between fellow colleagues and even other companies and professionals outside of your company. Coworking spaces bring together professionals and businesses from different industry segments. Even for coworking spaces that are dedicated to one specific industry segment (e.g., hi-tech), those who work from the coworking space come from myriad backgrounds and networking can uncover new opportunities. These can create new revenue opportunities, help identify new partners and providers, facilitate problem-solving, and reveal new career and business opportunities.

Increase Your Revenue Opportunities

For entrepreneurs and small businesses, coworking spaces can offer a chance to find new clients and revenue streams. Companies and professionals working in the coworking space may need your products and services. Or alternatively, they may be able to introduce you to new prospects who buy your products and services and, in turn, accelerate your revenue growth.

Improve Your Productivity

Getting your workday started and sustaining long stretches of productivity when working from a home office can become difficult. Going to a coworking space enables you to develop a routine and provides you with an atmosphere that is free from at-home distractions. The ability to collaborate and problem-solve with other professionals who possess areas of expertise that complicate your own areas also aid in improving productivity. 

Finding the Right Coworking Space

Not every coworking space is the same. There are different factors that help you to identify the one that is best for you. It actually might depend on the specific day. Sometimes, it might be the coworking space near your home or where your employees live. On other days, it might be a coworking space next to a key client location. Still, on other days, it might be a space that is in the best location for all of your company’s employees to collaborate and work from.

Davinci Meeting Rooms offers coworking space in thousands of locations in different sizes. Each of these coworking spaces can be used by the hour, half day, day, or week. You can work from a coworking space on a regular basis with your larger team one day a week. Or you can reserve coworking space for a two-day project workshop. The options are numerous.  

About Patrick Spencer

Patrick Spencer (Ph.D.) is the President and Founder of TIRO Communications that helps companies develop, build, and manage content, customer, advocacy, and demand-gen programs. Included in its offerings is TIRO Cognition Insights, a data analytics tool that enables B2C and B2B businesses to pinpoint what their customers and competitors’ customers are saying and to identify corresponding actionable product, services, competitive, sales, and marketing intelligence. LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn Website: www.tirocommunications.com