Coworking is a term that many freelancers and small business owners are familiar with. However, other people will learn about it for the first time. Coworking is a tiny workspace that is rented out to specialists who work remotely. Many detractors of coworking believe it is a waste of money. However, saving is usually their only justification. Coworking, according to proponents, boosts productivity and even helps people become happier. Interesting? Continue reading until the end.
Employers around the world are increasingly concerned about employee productivity. According to statistics, about 70% of professionals are distracted during the working day, and 16% of employees admit that they feel unfocused almost all the time.
How are things going with productivity in coworking? Flexible offices were created as an advanced working environment, the purpose of which is to provide comfort for the visitors and allow them to be as efficient as possible. And it works quite well: out of 1,500 employees surveyed working in coworking in 52 countries, 75% reported that working in a flexible office significantly increased their productivity. There is an even more interesting figure: a year after the survey, 72% of respondents, no matter if they are working in coworking spaces in New York City, Los Angeles, or any other place, noted that their incomes had increased. How does coworking increase the efficiency of employees? Let’s take a look.
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New business contacts
In the same study, 92% of the surveyed coworking residents noted that their social circle had increased, and 80% reported expanding their network of business contacts. Coworking employs specialists who value their time, are professionals, and have excellent expertise – and it is very easy to get to know them here.
The importance of such acquaintances for networking and creating innovations is well understood in Silicon Valley. So, the new Google campus is designed to maximize the number of random meetings. Yahoo is trying to bring employees back from remote work, because, according to the company’s HR managers, “some of the best solutions and ideas come from discussions in the hallway and cafe.” In the new Samsung headquarters in the USA, there are huge open areas – specifically for “techies” to communicate with “salesmen”.
New ideas and projects are born when people collide – and in coworking, everything is designed just for this.
External expertise
In coworking, you work among other professionals with unique knowledge and skills: their expertise can help out at a difficult moment.
Why do professionals congregate in coworking spaces? Focus is crucial for people working in flexible offices, according to a Business Harvard Review study: there are many freelancers and project experts among them who choose the cases they are interested in and consciously focus on professional advancement.
A sense of belonging
Feeling like a part of a community of like-minded people is truly an irreplaceable value. Every year they are willing to pay more and more money for it. In coworking, you pay for a workplace and become part of a community of productive and enthusiastic professionals. Seeing how people work at laptops, negotiating and discussing ideas, it is impossible not to feel this atmosphere. The natural need to “keep up with the pack” becomes the best catalyst for productivity. And the opportunity not only to get help yourself but also to come to the aid of someone from colleagues improves the mood and adds pluses to karma.
Employees’ mental health and well-being depend on their ability to interact with others. Employers might also benefit from assisting employees in dealing with feelings of loneliness. Collaboration spaces provide all of the benefits required for this; the key is to maintain flexibility without converting coworking into another office.
Open office
When a company rents coworking spaces, specialists from other professions meet each other more frequently, speak over coffee – and better understand one another. Managers may see what their staff are thinking and how they are structured. Those, in turn, believe that managers are the same persons as them, complete with feelings, thoughts, and issues. The fewer offices and solutions that are hidden behind closed doors, the better.
Work-life balance
A necessary condition for productivity is a balance between work and life. Working from home, it is difficult to achieve such a balance: the number of distractions – from your favorite TV series to the refrigerator – is simply off the scale. In addition, the habit of getting up late and working until the evening leads to emotional burnout. In coworking, you are in full control of your workflow.
Comfort
Working in a coworking provides stability: all office tools plus coffee in unlimited quantities are at hand. In addition, the level of comfort in coworking is often much higher than in a regular office. They are compactly planned (there is no need to go down to the first floor to the coffee machine), they are located in the city center, and they are freshly renovated.
Social and educational activities
Managers of each location want to build a community, fill a niche, and provide inhabitants with a one-of-a-kind experience. As a result, the calendar of any respectable coworking space is chock-full of events to suit every taste, ranging from instructional seminars to Friday movie screenings. And the essence of any event is communication, which translates into new projects and business contacts.
Coworking is created to increase productivity: and this is important not only during working hours. According to a study by the University of Montreal, people’s quality of life (QoL) directly depends on their quality of working life (QWL) – and it, in turn, depends on the quality of the working environment.
Coworking provides an excellent opportunity to replace a boring office with a modern and equipped place to work. And working there is not just a way to make your day more productive, but also an investment in your own happy life!