Coworking: A window into the future of work
First there was bring your own device, now there’s find your own office — and both trends could be equally revolutionary for the enterprise. That’s the gist of a coworking panel at GigaOM’s Net:Work conference that had operators, designers and consultants of coworking facilities talking about the increasing impact coworking is having on large corporations.
Don Ball, co-founder of the CoCo coworking and collaborative space said that many of the early corporate users of his facilities were “going rogue,” with supervisors not actually knowing that employees were working in a shared office space.
But these days, more and more corporations are leveraging coworking spaces, with motivations ranging all the way from real estate downsizing to perks to increased productivity. “When I worked in an office, I spent an awful lot of time to fool around,” said Emergent Research Partner Steve King. Offices tend to be social spaces with lots of parties and other non-work activities, something that doesn’t happen as much in coworking facilities.
At coworking spaces, people tend to be more focused, agreed Herman Miller Advanced R&D Projects Lead Consultant Jennifer Magnolfi. “These spaces simply feel more appropriate for the way we work today,” she said, simply because they reflect the tools we use to work today. She added than many coworking spaces follow different design paradigms than your plain old office, inviting people to learn as well as work.
So how big is the impact this new wave of corporate coworking is having? King said that nine percent of the people who attend coworking spaces in the U.S. now come from corporations that employ more than 100 people. That may not sound much, but LiquidSpace Founder and CEO Mark Gilbreath reminded the Net:Work audience that coworking is already influencing how big corporations design their offices. It might be that the coworking space of the future doesn’t even look like today’s coworking facility, where people rent desk space by time slot. “Hotels have spent 3 billion dollars to redesign their lobbies to feel like coworking spaces,” he said.
Regardless of what coworking spaces will eventually look like, all of the participants agreed that the trend will play a huge role for big companies in the years to come. “Coworking is a window into the future of work,” said King.
Photo by Pinar Ozger.
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Comments
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FeedbackI’d have to disagree. I prefer to collaborate with my team via services like @Crocagile and @Skype in the comfort of my home rather then pay for a time slot in a shared space.
I’ve tried coworking with mixed success. The first space I took was a cramped cube on a large floor in Manhattan. It was good because my apartment was too small a space to be in 20+ hours a day. It was bad because there was no real mingling and you heard everybody on the phone. You really just felt like a temp plopped down at a desk there.
I’ve tried a few other spaces and they fall into a different sort of coworking trap: the coworking space opened by a design studio. These designers both had extra space and were using coworking cover their rent. In those, the desk setups were almost afterthoughts to the people running the space, and extremely uncomfortable. Being designers they put a lot of thought into the concept of coworking and marketing it, and then very little money into actually making the space somewhere you would want to work.
I’ve also had a solo office which was a little bleak for my tastes. At the moment I am working out of my house. Its very nice since I have the space to work in a detached dedicated area for my office.
For a person starting a business, we introduce them to hundreds of people in town (via the Chamber, Mixers, personal introductions, etc) who can help them succeed. Staying at home is good (I did it for many years) but if you want to meet others who can help your business, form relationships, or get technical assistance (In my case, I help members with computer issues)…coworking rocks. A 10×10 box with the door closed (or sitting at home by yourself) cannot offer anything close
http://AltamontCowork.com
I think that there’s a big opportunity for coworking spaces by year 2012, due to the rise in remote workers. Those who telecommute will find working in these spaces much more effective and productive than working at their favorite coffee shop in town. The beauty of the coworking concept is not only to work in an office-like environment, minus the hassles of the traditional office setup, but also of connecting with like minds that opens up areas for future collaboration. Can’t wait about how creative one can get in designing these spaces to be much more comfy and aesthetically pleasing.
Why do otherwise smart people do such poor and bland presentations? Valid information, yet delivered in such tired manner. No visuals. No Stats or metrics. No background on speakers experience. No Video interviews with actual uses of “shared/co-workers”. Disappointing in my view.