Work as You Please: Exploring the Benefits of Coworking Spaces
This post was last updated on November 19th, 2024
You can be a one-person machine or a start-up with ten people in your team. While everyone is doing fine working at home, some occasions call for in-person collaboration. You want to instill this sense of community that is more plausible when members see one another frequently.
Coworking spaces fit the bill for companies that want flexibility. You can have a conventional office in an upscale location or hub without the traditional costs of owning or maintaining one.
Cost is indeed a significant factor, although it’s not the end-all and be-all. As you will come to know, some of these “shared offices” provide opportunities beyond four walls.
A Move toward Work-Life Balance
You are your boss, and you can practically station yourself wherever. But there are times when you want to draw the line between work and recreation. A day pass at a coworking space grants you access to a desk, internet, and applicable amenities like coffee during given hours.
The pricing schemes vary, but you can find one that lets you rent hourly, weekly, monthly, or for several days. So whenever you feel bored at home or in the café, you can drop by the office anytime.
An Office Space in the City’s Best Spots
Prices for office spaces are naturally expensive, but wait until you lease an office in Asian places like Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Singapore. Those are premium offices, however, with the view and access to the best spots in the city.
With coworking spaces, you can afford to spend the day in a place conveniently located in central business hubs. The site itself is hardly bad; it has an open floor plan with cubicles and rooms for privacy, ventilation, recessed lighting, and overall hip atmosphere. Other coworking spaces may not look like that, but they certainly follow a prototype.
A Place to Be Productive
Forget the aesthetics and design; you came to this place to work. Coworking spaces are furnished and equipped per the needs of their patrons. Aside from reliable, fast, and multiple internet connections for toiling in your desk, coworking spaces offer rooms and booths for meetings, conferences, and interviews. The rates for conference rooms are separate from the use of facilities.
Coworking spaces also have comfortable sofas and bean bags for brainstorming ideas and breaks. Talk a walk outside, buy coffee, and go back ready to start a new task.
An Opportunity to Network
While you can rent a small room within the coworking space, it’s more cost-effective to use the common area, where other freelancers and entrepreneurs congregate. Thus, one boon of working with a lot of people is networking.
Water-cooler talks can become platforms for serious conversations as like-minded individuals meet. Indeed, coworking spaces have become one of the best places for freelancers to find gigs and potential employment. Coworking spaces also have lots of activities, like talks, workshops, mixers, and even games to foster camaraderie and community.
A Practical Option
To be fair, costs can pile up when you or your team settle in a newly opened coworking space in town. The rate is per person, and it is valid for eight hours or so. You are entitled to coffee and refills, but the snacks are on you. Given the location of these offices, restaurants and cafés are far from cheap.
You may be able to score a lease for reasonably low monthly payments. But you have to factor into overhead costs:
- Electricity
- Water
- HVAC
- Security
- Household cleaning and supplies
- Office equipment like computers, printers, telephone, and photocopier
- Coffee and related products
- Appliances like microwave, refrigerator, and dishwasher
- Repair and maintenance
While it’s a matter of pride to house yourself and your employees in a place you can call your own, your current financial projections may not favor a move.
Working alongside Others
Coworking spaces are enjoying a steady rise, with their number reaching 22,400 by the end of this year, according to Statista. As long as people chase flexibility, work-life balance, and opportunity, the concept of working with others in a well-designed and equipped place will continue to work.
That being said, one best practice in working with shared spaces is to respect each other’s personal space. Unless you have a designated desk, you will share the table with others. So keep your voice at the minimum and your things within your area.
The limited space also means putting only the critical equipment on the table, including your laptop, phone, and other peripherals. You can tidy up the setup a bit with USB hubs that can hold USB-C and A devices or recharging them. You’ll maximize your space and efficiency that way.
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