Are Coworking Spaces Here to Stay?

It’s true that the demand for coworking spaces suffered lately because of the pandemic. However, it’s also true that the future is in shared office spaces because of the need and trend for streamlining operations, freelancing and driving down costs.

Are coworking spaces here to stay?

Why did shared spaces appear in the first place? People and businesses are looking for a place to get something done as well as socialise. After all, we always crave for social connection or the presence of other people while working. This is especially true for freelancers, individual professionals, one-person businesses and anyone who mostly work at home. Prolonged isolation is unhealthy and even the introverts still want to go out once in a while.

When independent contractors and work-at-home professionals use coworking spaces, amazing things can happen. For example, they’ll get a chance to meet professionals from other companies and industries. It’s a chance to gain valuable connections that might help them in the future (whether going up in a field, shifting to another career or landing a new project). Shared spaces also offer some options and flexibility to professionals. Perhaps they’re just temporarily staying in a particular suburb and plan to move soon. There’s no need for them to set up an office or get tied to a lease contract in a commercial building. Anytime soon they can easily get away depending on their shifting interests or where new exciting opportunities pop up.

Being an on-the-go entrepreneur or professional can help speed up growth and progress (or just make things less boring). Being tied down to a single office or location can get boring and exhausting after some time (not to mention the high costs of renting an office or setting up an office at home). This flexibility and cost savings from coworking spaces can also make it easier and less intimidating for people to start a new career or a service-based business. In the past, many professionals were not able to do that because of the high start-up costs (setting up an office and buying the desks, other necessities and the infrastructure). Perhaps later they’ll have their own offices or buildings. But for now maybe they just want to try the new path without risking too much.

Trends always come and go and many of them just come back after a few years or decades. Those trends (including the use of coworking spaces) often evolve and come out again looking like a fresh idea. Some things stay the same though such as the need for more flexibility and lower costs especially when starting out. This way, more people can participate in the economy and encourage innovation and further progress.