In what’s looking to be the golden age of Hybrid Working, it would be hard to not hear of Coworking. It’s everywhere and it’s not just for the entrepreneurs anymore. Everyone, from freelancers to fully established companies, is hopping on the flexi-work train. Well, choo-choo! We’ve been in the coworking game since ‘Hot desking’ was a phrase that was met with a blank stare. Seeing the recent surge of love is almost like watching your awkward child blossom and get voted class president.
62% of millennials use coworking spaces. That’s a huge number and the growth in the Coworking industry doesn’t look to be slowing down. In fact, the yearly growth rate for coworking spaces in Europe is 4.7%! It’s obviously very popular. (The millennials have spoken.) So, what’s driving that growth? Well, you have to ask yourself, what does coworking add to people’s lives? Turns out, it’s a lot.
Would it surprise you to hear that in a study on Hybrid Workers, 89% of participants reported feeling better after joining a coworking space? It shouldn’t. The separation between work and home life is a big bonus. 60% of Coworkers say they’re more relaxed when they get home. Taking work out of your personal space makes it easier to enforce work/life balance and is proven to improve sleep. I don’t know about you, but nothing makes us happier than our 8 hours.
The biggest benefit however is community. 83% of respondents said they feel less lonely since Hot Desking. In a world where people don’t know their neighbours, the workspace is the new neighbourhood. The kind of neighbourhood where someone else foots the bill for the monthly street party, your neighbours can help you get ahead, and you don’t have to take your own bins out.
Just the act of getting up, getting dressed and leaving the house in the morning can be enough to change your mindset for the working day. Add in the brain boost of fresh air on the morning commute, the tea and coffee on tap and the fact that 68% of people sharing space with a coworker say they are better focused. Getting more done in your working day, so you have more time to relax, guilt free, in the evenings.
“Coworking spaces are a hotbed for innovation and entrepreneurship” – Forbes. Coworking facilitates growth in a career that can get lost when freelancing. The freelance market can often feel like a fight to keep your head above water. Think of coworking as being introduced to a lazy river. The inbuilt support, resources and networking can be the difference that gets a career smoothly flowing along.
What’s irreplaceable about Coworking spaces is the mix of self-employed talent, start-ups and established companies. We’ve personally reprogrammed many an access pass after an Evening Social friendship turned a freelancer into full-time employee.
As well as chances for your business to grow, a good Coworking space should offer opportunities for you to grow yourself. The list of free opportunities at Desklodge in the last few months alone is sprawling. It includes ‘Lunch & Learns’, pop-in business services such as Financial Advisors, Video-Content Producers, and Seminars on everything from Imposter Syndrome to Time- Management!
If you’re still unsure if Coworking is for you, that’s okay! The real beauty of it, is that it’s so, so, flexi. You can drop in and try Hot Desking for a day, or a week. If you have a team that changes size, Desklodge offers the unique ability to switch between a small Hot Desking team or a full office on a whim, with Day Offices.
%20(1).jpg)
