Advantages of coworking space:
1)
Relatively low cost and flexibility
As opposite to traditional, single-company
offices, coworking space does not require long-term commitment and can be
rented by short period (e.g. month). It is appreciated in particular by small
tech startups. Thanks to the flexibility of coworking space model, le ss financially
stable companies can rent the space for
shorter time.
2)
Facilities shared by coworking space members
Various utilities and appliances
may be pretty costly to buy/organize– coworking space is “all-inclusive” by
nature, that is members of the community can make use of shared facilities such as:
·
High-speed internet wifi network,
·
Free coffee in the kitchen,
·
Printers/scanners,
·
Parking space,
·
Meetings rooms.
3)
Scalability of available work space
When a given company thrives, it needs
more space for new employees – coworking space is more scalable than a private office and should meets your demand on new office space.
4)
The atmosphere of creativity
People from different companies,
sitting together for hours on a daily basis may positively impact on each other
and boost mutual creativity. Sharing ideas and seeking advice is therefore very
easy in coworking space. Entrepreneurs may gain new business contacts in that
way,
5)
True sense of being a member of community
A number of events are organized
in a coworking space, such as weekly happy hours, dinners, breakfasts, parties
to help community members meet each other.
Disadvantages of coworking spaces:
1) Too high cost
For a big company (with hundreds of employees) coworking space may not be an option – it is much cheaper to organize its own private office, such established companies do not require community/social network either,
For a big company (with hundreds of employees) coworking space may not be an option – it is much cheaper to organize its own private office, such established companies do not require community/social network either,
2)
Lack of privacy
The workspace is shared and employees
from various companies can see other all time (in Warsaw WeWork there are no
walls, but glass dividers) – you may be afraid that the people from the office
located next to your area may hear you when you talk about them ;) Some companies that for instance work with private/sensitive information cannot located in coworking space for that reason.
3)
Too much distraction
Most of the people come to the
office to work, not to have fun – too many parties/integration events may be distracting
for them in the long term.
Questions:
1) Have you ever worked in coworking space (e.g. WeWork in Warsaw)?
2) Do you find working in coworking space attractive or it would be too distracting for you?
Sources:
1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0RSc9mtZp4
2) https://hbr.org/2015/05/why-people-thrive-in-coworking-spaces
3) https://www.chargespot.com/workspaces/coworking-spaces/
4) https://www.wework.com/pl-PL/l/warsaw
4) https://www.wework.com/pl-PL/l/warsaw
Questions:
ReplyDelete1) Have you ever worked in coworking space (e.g. WeWork in Warsaw)?
2) Do you find working in coworking space attractive or it would be too distracting for you?
1) I am not sure what you call coworking space in this article. Once you wrote it is a cheap thing and later that it is expensive. If you call coworking space as some space shared for single people then I didn't work with any special coworking space, maybe besides casual parks in a city. But if you call coworking space generally as a space where many people work beside each other then I can tell I work with one in an open space where a few dozens of people work in an office without walls.
2) Sometimes working in an open space is really distractive, especially when you must to focus a lot, but in the other cases it can be quite nice thing to be able to talk with other coworkers. It helps to integrate and make work more pleasant. It really depends on what you actualy do at the moment. I think in every work place should be places of isolation and a coworking space to get into people and have a nice work time.
1) Hmmm, I skimmed through my article and did not find where I stated that renting an office in coworking space is cheap. I meant that it is affordable for small startups, but too expensive for big companies (in comparison with setting-up own office),
Delete2) Actually coworking-space is not necessarily an open space, you can have your own, quiet and small office as well. Definitely the integration with people from other companies is the most important advtage of coworking space.
I have never worked in such place, but it’s rather not option for me. I don’t feel good being all the time between strangers and I would probably not make friends in environment, where I don’t share tasks and problems with others. I also don’t like working in open space I need privacy and my own place to feel good and focus on my tasks. Even at home I prefer to learn or work in the same place and don’t like when others distract me. “Being a member of community” – it doesn’t meet my needs and I don’t believe such places will make me more creative.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, “Being a member of community” does not work for me either - what I really it is kitchen and a cup of coffee in the morning (not necessarily tasty ;) - I pretty rarely participate in the events organised by Warsaw WeWork too. Actually, in Warsaw WeWork there are no open spaces, each company has its own space - partially transparent glass dividers may indeed hurt your privacy - in my case I really get to like people working in the office next to us so this is not a real problem for me).
DeleteNope, never worked in co-working space. Most of the working days I spent in the office that is really well fitted for me. 2 monitors with docking station, mechanically adjustable desk and some food in the kitchen and I'm really tempted to go there everyday. I also like working from home sometimes, it gives other benefits like not wasting time on commuting between places.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to the questions, yes it would be nice to try if I didn't have a normal office or it would be really far away. It brings people together and I need sometimes talk to someone, not just sit alone in silence.
You can have all this stuff in coworking place ;) - indeed, it is better to work at the office, than from home - you may quickly become overwhelmed by the feeling of isolation.
DeleteI haven't worked in coworking space yet, but I spend half a year working remotely from home and I wish I worked from coworking space instead. If I would ever had another job offer like this I would definitely look into a place in coworking space. I much prefer having real conversation with colleagues during the day, then being alone most of the time. Additionally its good to have separation between home and working place in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteBy having an office shared with other employees you can feel as a member of community - I think exchanging information in such a case it is also easier than by communicators - it is crucial to ensure the proper separation between free time and work as well.
DeleteCoworking space is great idea but not for everyone. Once with friends we were trying out best with startup, none of us had enough space at home to get together, plan and work so we've rented small room in coworking space. After this experience I can see a lot of advantages and disadvantages of such places. The worst thing about those is that there is no established standard and all the places are not equal. Sometimes You pay a lot for almost nothing and You have to focus on problems with workspace, not Your work, what can be pretty exhausting on long term. It's also hard to say about distraction because it's too common thing for me, I'm getting distracted everywhere by everything so in that case I wouldn't bother about this. In summary, coworking spaces are really good idea and can be very helpful but You have to be careful while picking one.
ReplyDeleteAs I emphasized in the article, for freshly set-up startups, coworking space may a good option. For a very little company, with only a few employees, working from home may be fine, but very quickly you can run into some problems - e.g. where to organize meetings with clients. Indeed, companies offering coworking spaces are still evolving - actually in Warsaw WeWork we were facing some technical issues (e.g. related to internet connectivity) at least once per week (now those are sorted out). We were even kidding: "We work in WeWork and nothing works".
DeleteAnswering the first question, I've never worked in co-working space. To be honest, only kind of place to work I know is office openspace. I think co-working space may be a great idea, but not for everyone. There are many kinds of people, some of them prefer talking to each other all the time, but others prefer quiet, lonely work. Of course, co-working space is great to share ideas and meet other people, but the efficiency of work may suffer.
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely every human being is different and coworking space is not for everyone - I think the biggest benefit of this is a chance to meet new people and even establish some business contacts.
DeleteA friend of mine used to work in such place and as far as I remember he paid fairly decent monthly fee for this whim. Personally I didn’t get a chance to work in such place but I suppose it could be truly enriching experience. For quite a long time I used to work in open space and I can say that sometimes it’s really hard to focus on your own work when everybody around is loudly talking about different things. Personally I prefer to work in small room or even work from home. New technologies facilitate communication to the great extend and I don’t mind making use of it ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWell, in coworking space, you do not need to necessarily work in open space (some really huge offices, for tens of employees may be considered open space). For the most part, offices are really small for several people. I am also of the opinion that working from home is convenient, but not all the time - I think many companies allow this, but 1-2 days per week.
DeleteI never heard of coworking spaces before to be honest but from your text I infer that it is not for me.
ReplyDeleteI work in a room with 10-12 people in it and it can get quite noisy sometimes. I do like that my working envoirment is stable and I know what I can expect because I know all of the people in my room quite well. I think that I would feel constantly watched in room with glass walls and I'm sure that I wouldn't focus properly.
Those transparent glass walls are not a case for all coworking spaces ("partially" transparent actually I would say, as only when you stay you can see people from other offices) Strangely enough, in Warsaw WeWork you are not allowed to have opaque glass dividers, but in London they are ok with this.
DeleteI've never worked in coworking space but I think I'd try if it were more affordable. Right now a hot desk in coworking space in Warsaw is a little cheaper than small flat, which is quite a high price.
ReplyDeleteI think it might be interesting and enriching experience. When working in a company space, you usually meet people with similar skillset and world view but in coworking space you can meet very different people from many industries.
Yes, actually renting a hot desk in coworking space is not very cheap, but in return you get many benefits, such as fast internet connectivity, shared kitchen and also a chance of establishing business relationships with other specialists.
DeleteI consider this a bad idea. I am currently working in openspace, where someone often interrupts my work, I can not concentrate 100%, I involuntarily start to hear other conversation people. Now, at least, I experience it within one organization, but if I had to deal with other organizations, I think that I would like to change my workplace soon. I say this is from my perspective, as my work requires concentration. Perhaps for another profession such a solution would not be bad.
ReplyDeleteI see that there is a common misconception about coworking space as "open space". Each company has its own space so you do not need to deal with other companies members while working. I am of the opinion that it may enriching experience to have some contact with them though.
Delete1. I have never worked in coworking space.
ReplyDelete2. I think this is not for me. I need concentration. Only a few people work in my job, but they can distract me.
If I had to choose between coworking space and work at home. I would choose to work at home.
I understand your concerns, but concentrating at work may be difficult at home as well (obviously it depends whether you have kids around wanting to play with you ;)). At home you are surrounded by things that you do not associate with work, but with fun/leisure time - it may be distracting. Another issue is proper separation between work and free time. Last but not least, if you work from home, you may miss real contact with other people
DeleteI have never worked in such environment, I have not heard about such practice either. Just like you have mentioned it might be efficient for small start-ups. I work in a huge corporation where sensitive data is being handled on daily basis. In my case such working place is impossible to be implemented. I wouldn't like such idea anyway. I am getting distracted by people from different departments in my own office so I can't even think about people from other companies wandering around on this common premises. I also think that such idea looks good on paper only and almost all these advantages become disadvantages eventually. Our polish mentality is just not ready for such solutions yet and I doubt it will ever be.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely for a big company it is better to establish its own office - it is much cheaper than renting an office in the coworking space - as I mentioned in my article such huge companies do not need any shared facilities, those corporations have enough funds to buy and organize everything on their own. Well, it just normal that common premises are full of people?
DeleteI did not work in a co working environment but one of my friends is and he didn't have any objections. Personally I wouldn't mind as long as I have my working space maintained. What I mean by working space is quiet and calm environment. I don't mind if peaple walk by as long as they don't disturb my personal space. Meeting new people from different companies sounds interesting but after lunch breaks I have to stayed focus in order to be effective.
ReplyDeleteEach company has its own, separate space, so there is no problem with focusing on your work after meeting people from other companies in shared areas (as long as your own team is quiet enough ;)
DeleteYes, I have worked many times in such space. It's very convenient, especially when working remotely. Unfortunately, the service is often expensive.
ReplyDeleteSo, I rather treat it as a stepping stone from home. When I want to go somewhere and work in another place. Working in such a place is attractive because there is good internet, sockets, conference rooms, etc.
Yes, as I mentioned in my article, there are many facilities in this kind of place - high-quality internet network is the most important one for me - but there are others, such as free breakfasts every monday (at least in Warsaw WeWork). Indeed, coworking spaces are not very cheap, but affordable for startups (in comparison with the pricing of having own office with amenities such as kitcher, conference rooms...)
DeleteI haven't worked in coworking spaces yet. And all in all I have nothing to regret. I like peace and quiet around me at work. In the previous work there were several such open spaces where I had meetings and this solution didn't convince me.Such rooms are suitable for lectures and other meetings of this kind. And are they suitable for creative work? In my opinion, they are completely unsuitable. It's loud and you don't have any privacy, which makes it difficult for me to focus on my work.
ReplyDeleteYes, in every coworking space there are common areas where there are usually many people (eg canteens, but I think that this applies to all workplaces, not necessarily in the coworking space). In Warsaw, WeWork, all companies have their own offices, separated by glass divisions from areas occupied by other companies. These glass dividers are quite good at suppressing the sounds from other offices (staff from other companies can even play music and we do not hear this). Indeed, privacy may be an issue - surprisingly enough in Warsaw WeWork we are not allowed to have non-transparent glass dividers, but it is possible in other offices (e.g. in London WeWork)
DeleteI've never worked in a place like this. I think that this space is very good for small businesses. It can make it easier to contact each other, we don’t need to send emails to contact, because this person is sitting right next to us. I think it is very important that people from work are close to each other. Such space can somehow eliminate the staff hierarchy. Everyone is treated equally and on the same level. Such work also allows you to quickly get an opinion, set details, and even we can help each other. The atmosphere between employees is friendly and works much better. Good atmosphere affects the willingness to work, and they affect the quality of work. additional benefits such as coffee or free internet are good additions.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly with all that you wrote, I find this sentence:
Delete"Such space can somehow eliminate the staff hierarchy. Everyone is treated equally and on the same level." particularly interesting - honestly, I do not think of coworking-space in such a way :)
I have never worked in coworking spaces before. However I wish I knew about such places back when I was working remotely for few months. The possibility to talk with other people and share ideas or views is invaluable. Working remotely was fun at the beginning but after some time I was missing real conversations.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, as a contractor working all the time from home, you may become frustrated due to lack of contact with other people (one of my colleague working in that way even changed the workplace just to have a chance of working at the office with other people).
DeleteI did not have the opportunity to work in coworking space. So far I have always worked in open space it seems to me that these two types share most of the pros and cons.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on the type of work you do. For example, for brainstorming or group creative work coworking space seen to be a great idea. However, if the most of the tasks at work you do by yourself and working with others to do them is limited to asking a few questions from time to time coworking space would be too distracting for me (if I had noise-cancelling headphones, maybe I would change my mind :) ).
I think noise-cancelling headphones may prove useful in every workspace (I verified it in practise) :)
DeleteNo, I have not ever worked in a coworking space, however I have friends, that do it. They really appreciate meeting new people, but for me it would be distracting. I like to be with a team in office instead - we can help each other. I enjoy to know people really well and form a strong team. Constant rotation of colleagues I find overwhelming. Working remotely is good for me, but I also appreciate, that I don't have to pay for it, when I stay at home. I can eat home food there or during short breaks I can enjoy gear I keep at home. It's a joy!
ReplyDeleteWell, in my previous, pretty big company that had its own big office. There is also a constant rotation of colleagues (not because of people being fired, but simply changing their place of works, as particular teams were shrinking/growing) - so not only coworking spaces are affected by this.
DeleteI have never worked in coworking space before. In my opinion it could be an option for persons who are resistant to stress (definitely not me). That is why I would not ever want to work in such conditions. Well, maybe I would, but only if I had to work with my friends.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but I do not get, what stress has to do with working in coworking space ;)? It depends on your company, kind of job and pressure placed on you by your superiors whether your work is stressful or not.
Delete1) Have you ever worked in coworking space (e.g. WeWork in Warsaw)?
ReplyDeleteNo, haven't tried that but my friend wrote his Bachelor thesis there and he really recommended such place. I agree that it's perfect for startups or even small projects, as we can learn e.g. organisation plan from the other or just be motivated with their energy.
2) Do you find working in coworking space attractive or it would be too distracting for you?
As I understand, coworking space means open space. If you're using proper headphones, you can stay focused and avoid any distraction. Open space provides some kind of nice atmosphere (if you're working with likeable guys), also if you're stuck with something, maybe some small talk might be helpful then. But from the other hand, if deadline is getting closer and you need to pay all your attention to your tasks, then noisy atmosphere might be distracting. It's cheaper that standard office, so mentioned cases should be considered before choosing such place.
1) Agreed - perfect for startups,
Delete2) Quoting one of my previous comments:
"I see that there is a common misconception about coworking space as "open space". Each company has its own space so you do not need to deal with other companies members while working" - the work atmosphere really depends on your team members - in a conventional office you may also feel distracted all the time.
Ahh ... when I first start to work in open space type office I thought its a disaster, this instant chatter, conference calls and people constantly walking around. I got used to it ... I bought myself a pair of headphones with good noise cancelling :)
ReplyDeleteThen I decided to leave the corporate environment and went for the startup company and its office was in co-working space, this was even more terrifying experience then open space :)
Currently I do work in WeWork office, its not so bad, yet, only because its quite new facility and its no fully rented, but at least it has wall that connect with ceiling :) Previously I worked in another co-working office owned by BusinessLink and it literally has empty space above walls, it was so loud in there what I was now able to participate in conference calls at all :)
Fortunately now I mostly work from home, and my coffee isn't that expensive as well :D
Yes, it literally has empty space above walls must have been terrible. I can't image working in such place as well, hearing what employees from other companies are talking about - in such a case I would prefer to work from home too.
DeletePersonally I haven’t worked in coworking space before but I’ve heard some opinions about it from my friends. And all I’ve recived were negative opinions. So I’m not sure if I want to try it. I’m easy to get attached to my place so I wouldn’t like to change place of my work every month. As a programmer when I’ve got a task to do I really need to focus on and I get easily distracted by other people. In this situation I close the door in my room and I stay in silence. So I don’t belive coworking space would satisfy me, but I get the point and it can be excellent idea for new companies which don’t have lots of budget to get a new office.
ReplyDeleteI did't work in such environment, but I'm working in something similar. I'm working for Deloitte as programmer. My company really big and there are a lot of people from bunch of other departments. It is interesting to hear them talking about audit or some wird stuff.
ReplyDeleteWorking in more open space would be distracting for me. Especially with hot-desk policy when everyday you can sit next to other people.
I found it out when I was writing my BSc paper - it was almost impossible to focus and move on when I was staying at home. So I've tried to go to the Campus and it turns out that I don't want to waste my time and I was so focused on writing that it last me few attempts to finish what I was trying to do at home for almost a month.
ReplyDeleteBut at the other hand when I'm working at the open-space at my workplace I'm sometimes really easy to get distracted so I don't thing that the places like WeWork might be quiet enough for me.
Unfortunately, I’ve never worked in co-working space. I’ve heard about it and mostly it was positive opinions but as author wrote in the article, I think it’s better for startups or small companies. In my opinion this system of work is simply too dangerous for bigger entrepreneurs. Nowadays the heart of the business is knowledge, and in cases like mentioned in the article it’s impossible to keep all secrets inside. Especially if your business is connected with money ;) Regarding the second question – yes, I think it would be too distracting for me. I can’t imagine that there is a lot of people around me when I have to finish some important project and I need to be full focused. Summarizing, it sounds good but not for me ;)
ReplyDeleteI have never worked in a coworking space to be able to express an opinion supported by arguments, so I would have to try it. For several months I worked in an open-space substitute: eight people: four constructors, two traders, a webmaster and a production coordinator. The advantage of this work organization is being well informed about new projects and required dates.
ReplyDeleteThe disadvantage was the big noise, especially when two pairs of people at the same time talks to each other. Unfortunately, I can't work in the headphones. I can not imagine my work surrounded by people talking on completely uninteresting topics - this is how I imagine working in coworking space.
As I never worked in coworking space I can't really provide any life-based thoughts on the topic. On the other hand I have a lot of experience of working in open space workspace. Lack of privacy and noise are the worst aspects of working on open space. Especially when I need to focus on important projects. Pair of good headphones is a must!
ReplyDelete1) Have you ever worked in coworking space (e.g. WeWork in Warsaw)?
ReplyDeleteNo I didn't. When I started working, I always worked in local offices. But the concept of co-working is very interesting, because you can use some office tools like copy-machine, printers etc in case you can't afford them. Also you have this vibe of the office, you work together with other people which can be advantage or disadvantage.
2) Do you find working in coworking space attractive or it would be too distracting for you?
I like to work in the local offices, offices that belong to company I work for. You have this feeling that you belong somewhere, you are surrounded by friends and you also have fun working. Also I can work remotely so it's just not the option for me.
I’ve never heard about coworking spaces.
ReplyDeleteHowever in companies I worked in, people from different departments shared space and facilities. I think it’s a good opportunity to be able to share experiences with people from different backgrounds, who have various tasks and knowledge. I think it broadens my views.
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ReplyDeleteI've never worked and even heard about coworking spaces.
ReplyDeleteNow I work in classic room with 9 people from my department and it's ok for me. We have good relations between us and tell jokes all the time. At open space I don't think it will be propriety.
Now I will be working in open space since 1st October and I will check if combine departments with each other is a good idea.
The main drawback I'm worried about is noise from all over the floor. But maybe it won't be so bad :)