The Changing Face of the Workplace – A Story About Coworking

The first ever coworking space opened in San Francisco in 2005.

Whilst working remotely, open source software consultant and journalist Brad Neuberg decided to create a community for other remote workers and freelancers, filling the social gap that a workspace usually provides. Brad named this concept, Coworking.

The first coworking space itself was based within a functioning community building where Brad rented space for $300 for two days a week. (A very similar setup to the hybrid way of working like the DeskLodge Hoffice!).

“In the first month no one came. Literally no one!”.  Brad Neuberg

After an initial slow response following a newspaper advert, Neuberg was undeterred and began to promote his space in local coffee shops (where many remote workers could be found pre- pandemic!).

Making his approach more personal and friendly Brad handed out flyers and talked to people, face to face, about his coworking idea.  Slowly, the first trickle of coworkers began to come through the door and a movement was born.

"A lot of people came to the space just to look at it and see what was going on with coworking but were not able to actually join the space. I would tell them ‘take this idea, steal it, and make it your own’ ". Brad Neuberg.

16 years and a pandemic later…

The coworking movement is now a fully-fledged coworking industry that is changing the way we view and use workspaces.

Current stats show the impact it’s having. Flexibility is a key focus, employees are wanting to use coworking spaces more and new coworking spaces are opening up all the time.

• 86% of CBRE respondents view flexible office space as a key component of their future business strategies.
• 85% of employees prefer to work remotely at least two to three days a week in the future.
• The supply of coworking space in the UK has grown by 4% despite COVID-19.

When Brad Neuberg first set out to create his community he changed the way the rest of the world ‘worked’.  As the post-pandemic world begins to emerge, and working from home is now a functioning reality, it will be interesting to see how attitudes around flexible coworking spaces adapt and grow in these ever-changing times.

Want to know more about flexible working at DeskLodge? Get in touch with Ellie here  ellie.cheetham@desklodge.com

Further reading…

Read more of Brad’s coworking story here http://codinginparadise.org/ebooks/html/blog/start_of_coworking.html

The Instant Group (https://www.theinstantgroup.com/media/3489/instant-2021-cre-predictions.pdf)