Co-working spaces are ideal for getting right down to business. Work isn’t something people have to sit in an office for – it is something that they do.

You may be thinking that this is a contradictory statement for a company that promotes shared workspaces. Our service offering encourages people to move away from working from home and to some extent work in an office environment. But here is where co-working may be very different. We don’t specifically promote a “brick and mortar” option. Instead, the concept of shared workspace is about the community that you join. It’s about the experience you get from engaging with different people and in many cases, people from different industries and walks of life. 

Co-Working Spaces vs In-Bound Offices vs Home Offices

Many companies are giving employees the option to take up a distributed or remote work strategy because the past few months have shown companies that staff can be just as productive when they are not office-bound. In addition to this, it gives the company a chance to reduce its fixed rental overhead. Shared workspaces offer flexible payment packages, without onerous long term rentals. Various online software tools have been introduced to manage productivity such as Chrometa, Monday, Slack and video conferencing tools. Hosted communication has ensured that virtual meetings are now the norm. So as long as you have some quiet space, very good and reliable internet, it won’t matter where you are sitting for your meeting.

But here is the thing… even with all the best tools available, working from home for long periods of time does come with its distractions. When you get distracted, it is good to be in the presence of other people that are working. It encourages you to knuckle down to the serious task at hand. When you have a critical deadline to meet, home can be a very lonely place, if your only company is the family pet and the white noise in the background is an irritating next-door neighbour’s dog or the tree fellers down the road. The majority of people thrive off other human beings energy to help them through the day to get things done.

If it helps to be in a co-working community, then ideally the space should be as close to where you live as possible. Your office should be as easily accessible as your favourite local coffee shop. In a world where we seem to be moving towards convenience, offices should be no different. In some of our past blogs, we have been proponents that remote working is going to change the way we make decisions on where we live. In South Africa, smaller coastal towns are growing in popularity, as fibre is rolled out, and more shared working spaces become available. People can choose the lifestyle they want, and work fits in with the lifestyle choice. Happier staff are more productive staff.

In conclusion, work isn’t something that you specifically need to sit in an office for, however, my view is this comment is based on the traditional office description, places where people would travel hours a week to get to the office destination, sit in the same desk, and then be monitored on the time you entered and left the building. Sitting around for a little longer ensures that when you asked for that extra day leave or an increase, time spent in the office would hold you in a good light. Tasks are now monitored by what you complete and not by how long you sit around. 

If you want a space where you are not interrupted and can be inspired then a co-working space such as Co.Unity is always a viable option to consider.