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According to All Work, there are over 32,000 flexible workspaces worldwide in 2020, and the sector is expected to withstand this health crisis. With the number growing exponentially year by year, it is important to know what drives growth in this industry. As with every industry, there are several reasons for the advancement, but there is one seemingly universal trait in every coworking space that has undoubtedly aided in the rise of the industry: the core values they hold. As the health crisis suddenly led to the new era of telework and social distancing, it would seem to be a logical and immediate prognosis that coworking spaces would suffer the loss and be almost unable to bounce back. Although coworking spaces may be empty offices and desks to some, there are certain values that create the atmosphere of creativity, innovation, and many more opportunities at Talent Garden.
In today’s world of business, it is essential for every company to have a mission statement. Acting as a formal representation of their goals and values, it gives employees and consumers an idea of how a company sees oneself and what they are focused on achieving. Every business prides themselves on their unique mission statement with the goal of separating away from their competitors. On the contrary, almost all coworking companies share very similar “statements” in the form of shared values. Simply put, five core principles, that of collaboration, openness, sustainability, accessibility, and community, have been a key propellant to why coworking has become a global trend in business. Below, we have outlined in detail why these values hold such great status within coworking culture.
1 | Collaboration
As coworking is predominantly focused on startups and freelancers, it is essential to encourage high rates of collaborative work within the workspace. The task of creating a business is no easy job and with it comes its fair share of struggles and confusion, along with this year's added stress of transitioning to remote working andd loss of jobs, income, and business opportunities. For startups and freelancers struggling to work at home, we have created our Top 10 Collaboration Tools for Remote Working. It is necessary that each coworker feels like they have the ability to reach out to fellow coworkers and ask for guidance on specific topics. For this reason, collaboration is why coworking spaces have rapidly expanded globally. Freelancers/startups see the benefits of coworking and are incentivized to work at these spaces because they know that they will be able to give and receive help on a mutual level. This exchange further provides them opportunities to learn from other coworkers, which is highly valued information especially in such a time of uncertainty and unpredictability as we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel after the 2020 health crisis.2 | Openness
Every business culture, regardless of the industry, needs to have an atmosphere of openness in the office. This is imperative because it provides people with the ability to be themselves and not worry about anything else other than achieving their goals. This is what coworking does best. Coworking culture focuses heavily on creating an open atmosphere within their space, which in turn allows coworkers to develop trustworthy relationships with each other which also aids in further collaboration. Returning to the workplace after months of working at a desk in a stuffy homemade office will allow coworkers to thrive in an open plan space and network at a safe distance while still maintaining their own space. Coworking can be seen as the “third alternative” to the conventional office and the home office as it eliminates direct competition and office politics whilst providing a communal space for like minded individuals to work, create, and coexist openly.3 | Sustainability
One of the reasons coworking is such a successful idea is because of the common mission to remain sustainable. In short, this word is used in reference to the goal of holding an unbreakable balance between giving and receiving with fellow coworkers. This idea has proved useful as coworkers realize that what they put in is what they get out in return. Coworking spaces pride themselves on providing their coworkers with assets to help them grow their business and also instill a culture of equally giving back what you receive. This idea of mutually sharing information and skills with each other has been a key reason why coworking is so popular for freelancers or startups. The power of sustainability in coworking spaces will be especially incentivizing in the return to coworking following safety procedures. As unexpected circumstances arise, companies and freelancers must prove their flexibility and there is no better way to sustain their presence in the industry than being surrounded by a community of innovative professionals who are in the same situation and are willing to maintain mutually beneficial relationships professionally and personally.4 | Accessibility
Coworking spaces are highly focused on both geographical and educational accessibility. It is important to have the fixed location of the space in a good area for daily activities, such as cafés, restaurants, gyms, libraries, etc. This year, accessibility has become of even greater value to coworkers as for months workers have not had to commute and remote work instead. As restrictions are lifted, workers remain wary of the safety of public transport and highly populated streets on their commute as they have little control over the safety precautions carried out outdoors. This is why coworking spaces work to provide the highest quality of safety in the workspace through following government regulations and implementing new protocols and the physical layout of our space so that cleanliness and safety is ensured. Here is more information on Talent Garden’s safety response to COVID. Regarding educational accessibility, coworking spaces provide endless opportunities for their coworkers to grow their knowledge if they desire too. This can happen in the form of speakers, workshops, events and more. Coworking spaces focus heavily on accessibility because it provides their coworkers with an even greater chance of growth and success. These opportunities remained resilient to the pandemic, as they were seamlessly moved online for coworkers to experience accessible learning while remote working, gaining an element of networking while also receiving valuable information and advice about the future of work in a post COVID world.
5 | Community
Put in a nutshell, the value of community is all about accommodating fellow coworkers and creating friendly bonds between each other. This value has proven to be incredibly useful as a huge testament to the success of coworking is because of the focus on relationship building and fostering interactions between coworkers through their shared office space. Putting strong emphasis on community is very important because as members of the coworking community become close, the friendships will then allow further collaboration and mutual benefits to all coworkers. At a time when we must keep our physical distance, it is even more important to stay connected as a community of digital and tech innovators. At Talent Garden we are ensuring our community’s safety and positivity as we look forward to the opportunities the new normal brings us in 2020.
Article updated on: 09 August 2023
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