Two Tribes
I’ve been using coworking spaces for several years and I am pretty certain they are central to the future of work but it’s still not clear how.
So what is a ‘coworking space’? Well, part of the problem is that it’s a very, er, flexible term. it covers a very wide range of offerings, which in turn appeal to a very wide range of client needs.
At one end is what I consider ‘proper’ coworking. A space that provides a community for individuals and small teams, provides a range of working spaces and encourages collaboration and mutual support (Indy Hall is the first and best example of this). It may also provide a range of additional services, not just limited to business. For example, childcare, cultural activities, social clubs, food and drink.
At the other end is shared office space with ‘urban’ interiors and free beer. Or ‘We Work’ as it’s sometimes called.
(For the avoidance of doubt, I am not including tired old office space with a ‘coworking’ sticker slapped on it in a ‘porcine cosmetics application’ kind of way).
There has been some interest, and even demand, from corporates but it’s never quite been clear what the demand is and how it could be met. It’s like a Venn diagram where there ought to be an overlap but, in fact, they are just touching.
What an individual looks for from a coworking space is not just a space to work amongst other warm bodies, but connection, community, relationships, a sense of belonging and opportunity for co-operation and collaboration. All in a convenient location and at an affordable price.
A corporate employee doesn’t need most of these, in theory at least. They already belong to something, they have relationships and community, their opportunities arise from their employment. So they are really just after a convenient location, a good price, and the right specification. At least, that’s the view of their employer (who’s footing the bill).
Because here’s the conundrum. If you let people work in coworking spaces, do they become less engaged with the organisation? Does their sense of belonging wane, do they detach from the culture? What if they like going to the coworking space WAY more than going to the ‘office’?
A lot of the coworking spaces I have been to are determinedly ‘non-corporate’. They are the antithesis of ‘head office chic’, a rebellion against the bland uniformity of many large institutional spaces (or even the newer ‘funky’ uniformity). What happens to people if you put them in that environment? Do they ‘go rogue’?
I think this is at the heart of the issue for many organisations. COVID has forced them to trust their people to do the work and they have been pleasantly surprised at the response (they shouldn’t have been but that’s a whole other thing). However, in the binary world of office and home, they have been able to keep them in the ‘corporate bubble’. They have been able to maintain the illusion that is ‘corporate life’, a way things are done that does not need to be questioned. However, what happens is people are exposed to other environments, other perspectives, other cultures that contradict the corporate illusion?
Work from Home broke the spell around the office. Letting people work in coworking spaces could break the bigger illusion about corporate life.
And if people realise just how mad some of it really is, what will they do?
Pass The Dutchie
One organisation that has had some success bridging the divide is the dutch company Seats2Meet.
They were established as a provider of training event venues, used by many large organisations. They decided to invite consultants, freelancers and other solo entrepreneurs into their facilities to cowork. They could do so for free in exchange for sharing their knowledge, their ‘social capital’.
What they found was that mixing began to happen organically between the ‘coworkers’ and the corporate attendees as they went and got coffee or had something to eat. The result was a sharing of information, ideas and opportunities that was beneficial to both groups.
There are real positives to be had by embracing the use of coworking spaces like this, getting different perspectives and ideas to spark innovation. It’s a way to increase diversity of thought in the organisation, by allowing the organisational boundaries to become more porous. It does require the organisation to let go, however, to have less control.
I don’t think they have a choice on that front, to be honest. But I’m sure some will resist anyway.
Alone Again (Naturally)
Whilst I glibly said that employees don’t need much of what a coworking space offers in terms of community and connection, this doesn’t apply to everyone. A significant and growing number of employees suffer from workplace isolation.
Until recently, I didn’t even know this was a thing but it is and it’s getting worse. Which is kind of shocking, right?
It’s when someone in an organisation feels they have no connection with their coworkers or any support network. Back before COVID, when that person would be sitting in an office full or people, it would literally mean feeling alone in a crowd. At least they’ve been able to feel isolated in the comfort of their own home for the past 18 months.
I may joke but it can be an even bigger problem when people are working from home or remotely. Here’s where coworking spaces could have a big part to play, as they provide the very things the person needs and can be more accessible than the office (assuming there is still one to go to).
Isolation is really bad for mental health, obviously, and also adversely impacts productivity. Encouraging employees to use coworking spaces is a way for an organisation to get the best from their people and also fulfil their duty of care towards them.
And that’s the thing. If your people feel that you, as an organisation, care for them, they are going to continue to feel connection and belonging. They might also feel that towards the coworking space and community, but it’s not either/or, it’s both.
Unless they feel you don’t really give a shit. In which case, it’s game over.
Welcome to the Pleasure Dome
The changes we’re seeing now are not just about the future of how we work but also how we live. It enables people to spend more time in their local community, which is expected to stimulate many towns and communities. I think it is likely that we’ll see more coworking spaces appearing outside of the city centres, in residential areas and in towns.
I think it’s also possible that they will do more than just coworking, whether by including other services like childcare, or being part of a cluster of businesses that meet multiple needs.
This is an exciting opportunity to create diverse, community hubs for commercial, social and cultural interaction. In some towns in the UK, large stores left empty by the collapse of former high street giants have been redeveloped into spaces including coworking, coffee bars, art galleries, craft shops, gyms, cinemas and other amenities that can support each other and the community.
Some of these initiatives are temporary (facilitated by the Meanwhile Foundation), some are being done on a more permanent basis through community groups and by local councils. This is an integration of different aspects of our lives, an ending of the false separation between ‘work’ and ‘life’, between business, culture and community.
Coworking is fundamentally about togetherness. That spirit is now extending beyond the narrow realm of ‘work’ to embrace the totality of our lives. I think we’ll all be much better for that.
Shout It Out Loud
All I know about coworking is through my buddy Bernie Mitchell, who is not only embedded in the industry but has been to more coworking spaces than anyone else I know (and quite often dragged me along as well). Give him a follow if you want to know what’s happening in coworking and get a peep into the wonder that is the Bernieverse. Follow him on twitter @berniejmitchell
Some coworking spaces fail because they do not offer enough security: others can see your screen and notes on the table, which violates any robust security policy. Those coworking spaces with private rooms but shared social spaces solve that problem. I can foresee corporates renting these in locations near where their remote workforce is clustered to save on office space and give employees a nice work option.