5 Reasons Coworking is the Ideal Way to Work
Starting in the mid 2000s, the brand new office model started popping up all around the world. With the freedom of laptops came the obvious next step: if the laptop is mobile, why can’t the worker be? From there, the idea of coworking kept growing into more than a landing pad for anyone with a laptop. Between 2016 and 2019, the number of coworking spaces and available seats grew exponentially.
When pandemic restrictions shuttered many offices in 2020, 75% of people found that they were either equally or more productive while working remotely as they were in the traditional office. While the short-term revelation changed the world’s approach to office culture, the long months of being stuck at home exemplified the need for community as well as the importance separation between work and home lives.
Coworking had already begun to bring the best of WfH and office comradery together. From Hong Kong to Nairobi to Los Alamos, the concept has continued exploding in popularity, with nearly 2 million people using coworking spaces in 2020 (Zippia, 2023).
What is ‘coworking’?
Typically described as a collaborative work space for otherwise unconnected individuals, coworking has developed a unique method of offering convenience, comfort, and community to remote workers, entrepreneurs, students, and more.
Coworking spaces vary widely in target audiences, style, programming, and size. Operators range from your friendly neighborhood non-profit (hi!) to multi-billion dollar corporations, and users vary just as widely. Some coworking spaces, usually in large cities with higher concentrations of competitors, focus on a specific niche. Whether that is a specific industry, identity, or lifestyle, there’s a coworking space for that.
Top 5 Reasons to Join a Coworking Community
#5: Facility Amenities
On top of typical office supplies and work space, coworking models often include other benefits as well. Some of the most popular features are free coffee and snacks, printing, and sound-proof/-dampening furniture designs. Conference rooms, phone-booths, kitchens, and lounge areas are staples of the modern office, and of course can be found in most coworking spaces. Some coworking spaces also have more targeted amenities like a makerspace, tech labs, or gardens depending on the community needs.
While the bonuses are great, the fundamentals remain the biggest draws: high-speed wifi and a productivity-focused atmosphere.
#4: Member Benefits
Professional services, member networking, and accessible community resources are fairly ubiquitous among coworking communities. Because communities are often tailored to specific groups of people, benefits can range from widely.
For our innovation-driven community, projectY focuses on supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners with a business library, business accelerator program, and full-time dedicated support. Because of our county’s small population and relative isolation, we also welcome students and remote workers who would otherwise have to commute off the Hill to access the type of amenities offered at projectY.
#3: Save Money
Compared to a traditional office space, there are no bills and tasks to juggle with your actual job. Things like janitorial services, renovations, and furniture are included in the flat monthly rates, without long-term contracts or hidden fees. No utilities, no service fees, no leases. We handle the operation of the space so you can focus on what matters to you.
With tiered membership plans, you only pay for what you need. Plus, as a non-profit dedicated to economic development, you can be sure that every penny of your projectY membership and rental payments are going back into the space.
While coffee shops, libraries, and home offices don’t cost money for being in the space, the hidden fees rack up. For example, getting only a $4 coffee at your local café everyday in the typical workweek still costs more than our Bethe-level membership (which includes unlimited coffee and snacks, along with all our other benefits). Plus, you’re not getting the quality of every other item on this list that come built in to a coworking membership.
Coworking is, simply put, one of the most affordable ways to work while still getting everything you need to be productive and comfortable.
#2: Community
Unlike the isolation that comes with home offices or the lack of meaningful connections at coffee shops and libraries, coworking is all about community. What that looks like exactly varies between spaces, but you’ll always find like-minded people. One of the good things about tradition offices is the simple fulfillment of our inherent need for human interactions. We all learned what it meant to work from home during the lockdowns, and the vast majority of us struggled with the isolation.
#1: Flexibility
By far, the most celebrated aspect of belonging to a coworking community is the flexibility it offers. You work on your own time, in your own way.
Do you prefer lounging on the couch while you work? Do you keep odd hours and need somewhere to work at any time of day? Do you simply not want to commute to the office but can’t work well at home? We’ve got a comfortable couch (and beanbag), an app-controlled lock, and a convenient location.
