Coworking

Coworking as a concept was invented by Brad Neuberg in 2005 in his shared office space in San Francisco. Coworking spaces provide an option for individual workers and businesses to access well-managed office facilities. Because the costs are shared between many businesses, coworking spaces are more affordable than renting your own office. Coworking spaces will often include: 

• A desk and chair
• WiFi
• Phone lines
• Access to a printer 
• Breakout and meeting spaces 
• A kitchen area with water and coffee 
• Toilets and showers 
• A receptionist 
• An office manager 

Coworker.com states that there’s an annual growth rate of 24% in coworking spaces and that there will be over 30,000 spaces and 5.1 million coworking members by 2022. A quick look at Google Trends gives us an indication of just how popular these spaces are becoming. 

This growth is supported by advances in technology now allowing many people to do their jobs from anywhere and the shift towards a ‘gig economy’ with more and more people becoming freelancers, contractors or setting up their own small businesses. 

As well as the tangible facilities and the shared costs, the main reasons that most cite coworking as advantageous are for the many non-tangible benefits. 

• Culture
  Coworking spaces are associated with having a special culture. The way of working that comes from sharing a space with lots of different people and businesses. 

• Connections
  There’s a lot more chance to find friends, get referrals and meet potential suppliers, team members, clients and investors. 

• Collaboration
  You’ll meet like-minded people and those with completely different skill sets. It’s a space where you can share ideas, help each other solve problems, and work on pitches and projects together. 

• Cooperation
  It can be harder to accomplish things alone – help others and they will help you in return. 

• Creativity
  Being surrounded by people working on different things will expand your mind and with their help and inspiration, your creativity and productivity will increase. 

• Community
  The connections, collaboration, and cooperation create a sense of community – of contributing, being part of something and belonging. 

• Conditions
  The facilities will be better than what you could afford on your own and there will probably be space to use if your business expands. Coworking makes it easier to separate your home and work life than having a home office. 

• Coffee 
  It’s a running joke that caffeine makes up a huge part of the coworking culture. Grabbing a coffee with a coworker is a great way to socialise and shoot the breeze. 

There’s an etiquette to being a coworking member. Help to make the coworking community the happiest and most effective place for everyone. 

• Bring a positive and friendly attitude to work. 
• Be generous with your knowledge and in helping others. 
• Don’t be too noisy and practice a quiet phone voice (don’t use the speaker).  
• Respect other people’s space and keep your area and shared places tidy. 
• Bring your own supplies and replace anything you use up. 
• Be aware of odours that you might create with smelly food, strong perfumes or if you cycled into the office that day! 
• Chat to people about any issues you might have instead of letting them fester. 

A Google search of “coworking” or “shared offices” and your location should bring up the options available near you. Here are a few examples of coworking spaces in cities around the country… 

It will be easier to find options for coworking in larger cities than in smaller towns and rural areas but they do exist. If you can’t find a suitable space near you, see if you can find some other people interested in sharing a studio or office and consider starting your own.