Coworking spaces enable individuals to find meaning in their work while providing members with a greater chance of growing their businesses. Unlike an employee group working at an office, in the traditional sense, a coworking space is the professional home of individuals with a variety of jobs and talents. To create a coworking space internally, the company just takes a few big spaces and turns them into a coworking space, where employees can work in one big shared common area with flexible, unassigned workspaces. Compared to the work-from-home or regular work-from-home environments, a coworking space offers employees a more relaxing environment for working, and at the same time keeps workers motivated because they see professionals from different job fields engaged with tasks.
When the alternative is working in your living room, a coworking space wraps you up with a network of professionals and can lessen the isolation that is sometimes associated with working from home. One of the biggest reasons that freelance professionals are joining shared office spaces is because of the isolation that comes from working from home. The built-in network benefits are a reason why larger companies are often choosing a coworking option instead of traditional office spaces. In a shared office space, a person can develop his or her business quickly while also enjoying other benefits of being a coworker.
From meeting with other business professionals to working on independently funded projects, a coworking space can be a common place for individuals with different business ideas to come together and learn from each other. People in coworking office spaces easily network, form friendships, and assist one another professionally. People prosper in coworking spaces because of their access to endless opportunities such as new business opportunities, networking opportunities, learning opportunities, etc. As the people working in the coworking spaces are exposed to different groups of professionals and businesses, this gives them new opportunities for exploration.
Coworking gives people a place to focus and get the best work done, while also providing a professional environment for meeting clients and growing a business. Improvements occur because coworking office spaces not only give you a chance to meet different people with a wealth of knowledge but also support regular events and community programs designed to help its members thrive by learning and getting new skills. People who work in coworking spaces tend to thrive due to the coworking spaces’ sense of community, the flexibility, the opportunity for innovation, learning, and collaboration, the chance to form lasting personal and professional relationships, and the space’s emphasis on excellent design and wellness. People who are part of a coworking space are also more inspired, more creative, happier, and more engaged with their work than employees working in traditional office environments.
A study published in The Journal of Organizational Behavior found that, when asked to rate their levels of flourishing, those in a coworking space scored an average of 6 out of a 7-point scale, higher than the average score of employees in traditional office settings. Various types of professionals–from freelancers and digital nomads to entrepreneurs and corporate professionals–have confirmed that coworking spaces boost productivity, creativity, and collaboration, as compared with traditional offices. These workspaces are shared office spaces in which several professionals, startups, freelancers, artists, and entrepreneurs come together and collaborate, helping each other to develop numerous professional businesses. Coworking spaces offer a place for small businesses, independent contractors, and other workers to do their jobs, connect, and be part of the small businesses community on the ground.
Coworking offers a variety of benefits and a setting filled with hardworking, dedicated professionals from a variety of industries. Unlike any other corporate workspace, the reason to work is that the space makes it easy for you to take time off for fun and have some room to unwind from your work.
You get to work remotely with others doing the same thing, in a stimulating work environment, complete with benefits such as networking, events, and inspiring designs. Look beyond a coworking space, too, at our list of ways to build your networking while working remotely, so that you are always meeting new people via social and professional outlets. You may be meeting lots of people, and spending time in common spaces, which provide fresh networking opportunities daily, can improve your mood and inspire you. Better connections and networking with the people around you will lead to more ideas and jobs for you, giving you the chance to grow your business.
If you are working from a home office or a self-contained office, you may be depriving yourself of the essential connections needed to move your business forward.
Connections to others are the biggest reason why people prefer working in communal spaces over working at home without pay or renting traditional office space. Not only will you be exposed to colleagues at your company or organization, but you will also get to enjoy the atmosphere created by other professionals within the space. Instead of walking into an office each day to chat with the same person about the same things, you are just as likely to work alongside–coworkers–a Fortune 500 CEO as a graphic designer. Common has a handful of members working remotely from their homes across large U.S. cities since we offer coworking lounges and other communal spaces to enable that kind of collaboration and freedom in professional life.
When explaining how coworking spaces work, it is important, to begin by noting that coworking spaces are office environments for those working remotely, or can even be new homes for smaller businesses looking to lease awesome office space with all of the benefits of coworking. As it has evolved, coworking spaces are not just a domain of freelancers and entrepreneurs; they are a thriving ecosystem encompassing remote business teams, established companies in private offices, budding startups in brainstorming spaces, and all manner of creatives and gig economy workers. As more enterprise-level businesses are moving away from fixed offices, coworking is becoming a preferable option, some might say, the best of both worlds. While shared offices are cheaper than conventional workspaces, they are also providing a cure to loneliness at work problems.