Co-working reduces the negative aspects and outweighs the positive of a workplace. It helps in making an individual feel like they are part of a community, which will eventually make their business grow through the connections they make. Not only people feel that they belong in the workplace, but these spaces are also cost efficient and give people the liberty of having a mid-week holiday.

The start of a journey of a new entrepreneur or a freelancer might be a lonely and a stressful one when an individual is trying to start from scratch. One solution to calm the stress down is a co-working space. A co-working space allows individual workers to share an open workspace, instead of the traditional office cubicle or even trying to occupy a desk in a coffee shop where you order one coffee for nine hours. Co-working has shown many benefits in maintaining one’s professional job. Hence why should you work in a co-working space?

A co-working space is proved to have people become more productive and fruitful because of the flexibility that space offers. These spaces are usually open and accessible 24/7. Therefore members of these areas can determine whether they want to stay for the whole day or can decide if they want to take an extended lunch break during work hours. Members have the options whether they want to work in a silent area where they can be productive or in a shared space where they can interact with other members. Members even have the choice to work from home, without permission when they feel like having a lazy day.

The importance of the flexibility is also important when you want to expand your business. Co-working spaces can cater for changes to the size of your business, and it does not need a firm guarantee on a year’s lease like most traditional office spaces. As co-working spaces offer membership rates from hourly, daily, weekly or yearly membership to accommodate to the possible changes to the size of your business.

Secondly, a benefit in working in a co-working space is because members feel like they are a part of a community. For young entrepreneurs to eventually succeed, they first need connections. Co-working helps network professional and personal relationships. In a co-working space, it is most likely you will confront professionals from every aspect of the business world and can be beneficial for you in the future. Since co-working is all about the concept of collaboration,  If you want to get ideas or even feedback on your work, co-working allows for collaboration with people who help in bringing feedback to your current project and eventually an expansion of your project, which is only made possible through the aid of other people

At home or, public space or even a traditional office you are most likely to get distracted that does not allow an individual to focus maximally. Increased productivity is proven through a co-working space as there is less feeling of competitiveness and internal politics. Hence an individual feels less need to put on a work alter ego to fit in.  Co-working outweighs the negative of working and increase the positive in a workplace, as there is the feeling of belonging in a community where you can build business connections, cost efficient and also growth in productivity.

Mallorie Edlyn – Concrete Team

References:

Bridge, T. (2017). Coworking: 10 spaces for professionals on the go – The Bridge Careers in Creative and Tech.. [online] The Bridge Careers in Creative and Tech. Available at: https://thebridge.social/coworking-spaces-coliving-sharing-economy/ [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017].

DeskHub. (2017). Benefits and Advantages of Coworking and Shared Office Spaces. [online] Available at: http://www.deskhub.com/why-co-working/ [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017]. 

Chawla, R. and more, R. (2017). What’s the Top Benefit of Co-Working Spaces?. [online] Entrepreneur. Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230446 [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017].

Harvard Business Review. (2017). Why People Thrive in Coworking Spaces. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2015/05/why-people-thrive-in-coworking-spaces [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017].

Magazine, F. (2017). The Benefits of Co-working Spaces for Early Startups. [online] Foundr. Available at: https://foundrmag.com/co-working-spaces-higher-success-startup/ [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017].