Companies have been working tirelessly to enhance and improve the fluid working experience as a way to attract and retain employees in the highly competitive labor market. Coworking spaces are considered productivity destinations for employees.
WeWork at 4 Rue de Jules Lefebvre, Paris. Image courtesy of WeWork
At one point during the early pandemic, many believed the coworking industry might be on the brink of extinction. WeWork, by far the industry’s largest player, fumbled an IPO and faced a dire financial shortfall. The fast adoption of virtual work has cast doubt on the future of the physical office.
At this moment, the estimated number of digital nomads around the world exceeds 35,000,000; and this is just an estimate, the real number may be much higher than that. You, yourself, are probably reading this either because you are a digital nomad already, you want to be one, or you are interested in the idea but not ready to take the step yet.
Heads up, friends: Coworking Day is right around the corner.
This international holiday tends to sneak up on space operators—especially during years that you’re—you know—navigating a pandemic and other such delights.
But we’re working with what we’ve got and, what we’ve got is Coworking Day coming into view.
Hungerhub’s business more than tripled in 202l and expanded into Vancouver and Calgary as its work force has grown to 30, most of them hired during the pandemic. SUPPLIED
Even before the pandemic, Hungerhub.com never required its employees to come to the office. In fact, one employee works full-time from Brazil, and another is currently working virtually from Barcelona.
“The policy is, you can work from anywhere; it doesn’t matter, as long as you’re being productive,” says Sari Abdo, Hungerhub’s chief executive officer. The corporate catering company’s business more than tripled in 2021 and expanded into Vancouver and Calgary as its work force has grown to 30, most of them hired during the pandemic.
In the Coworking Trends Survey, most coworking spaces were optimistic about the new year. However, their economic situation continued to be severely affected by the pandemic. Meeting spaces in particular have been in high demand recently. Read the most important results in this article.
Over the last couple years, work has been in a state of upheaval. Where people work, when they work and how they work have been reset. This rethinking of work has also called the office into question—what are its purposes, really? Is it necessary at all? And if it is, how can it serve employees better than it has in the past?
What is a ‘third space’ venue? Can this further accelerate remote working and work from anywhere? How can companies embrace ‘third space’ as part of hybrid working?
A different place for a team meeting? Image: REUTERS/Rula Rouhana
‘Third space’ working offers a creative alternative to the home or office environment.
Restaurants, hotels and private clubs have found new revenue streams by hosting remote working sessions.
90% of companies anticipate a hybrid working approach, post-pandemic.
As many companies move towards a hybrid operating model where employees are split between office and home, a third way of working is growing increasingly popular.
Co-working has been evolving even before the pandemic. So how will co-working take shape post-pandemic?
More importantly how will co-working fit into the future of work as workers return to office and also with the increasing adoption of hybrid work?
There are many benefits to working in a shared office away from home.
ANDIA/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES
After being in the co-working office space sector for close to 10 years, I’ve seen it change immensely during that time. It started with a few early adopters and is now much more mainstream as a new way of working.
As the first glances of a post-pandemic world creep into view, one of the biggest questions remains around how we will all be working in the future. The pandemic forced many to work from home, who were confronted with a whole wave of both challenges and benefits. Undoubtedly, the world of work has been permanently changed, with flexible work arrangements now much more feasible.
With the increasing adoption of hybrid work the industry is also seeing an increase in demand for coworking space.
However for coworking and flex space operators to attract and retain members they need to really understand what members want and to continually improve on their offerings.
Here are some tips that differentiate a good from a great coworking space.
As we two-step toward something approaching normal life in your coworking space, let’s take a minute to re-center on your members—and what they want.
As you prepare for the workspace wave, here are 25+ things members want from your coworking space.