Coworking Already is Evolving: Here’s How

When it comes to office work, there is no going back to the old days where all employees were onsite at their place of employment. Workers aren’t returning to their cubes any time soon. Many love remote work and coworking at a neutral worksite.

Thanks to a growing coworking trend, there are already more than 1 million coworkers in the U.S. As these remote workers have abandoned the traditional 9-5 cubes, they’ve created a bloated 16% rental vacancy rate for office space!

But where is this trend of remote work headed? Will coworking space continue to grow in a format much as it is now—as a standalone, independent location where entrepreneurs, freelancers and remote workers rent out desk and office options, shared services and eating areas? Or will coworking take new twists? Here are some predictions:

“JLL predicts 30% of all office space will be structured for flexible coworking by 2030.”

• Coworking locations will adopt a strip mall approach. A new trend taking hold in coworking is called the consolidated services approach. Independent coworking spaces are locating next to childcare centers, health care clinics, fitness centers, cafés and green spaces. Workers with young children can drop them off at the childcare facility, work next door, and even join their kids for lunch. Doctor appointments or mental health checks are a few feet away, taking less time from work than would a downtown location.

• Coworking will gravitate toward “eco” locations. Companies are increasingly judged by their social responsibility and, in particular, their commitment to environmental sustainability. In a period of low unemployment and worker shortage, companies who offer eco-friendly offices are having a better recruitment success. What does an eco-coworkplace look like? It locates in the suburbs to reduce commutes (and traffic pollution). It also offers only eco-friendly paper, printers, lighting and heat pumps; recyclable food trays; and walking access to green space.

• Coworking spaces will sprout up within company home offices. Many white-collar companies and corporations already surrendered to the reality that workers aren’t coming back full-time. Instead, companies are beginning to incorporate coworking spaces within their legacy buildings, set up for employee drop-bys, not full-time occupancy. Remote workers who want to meet with other company workers make a date to come into the office, plug in their laptops, collaborate and then go back home. 

• Companies will create satellite coworking spaces for their workers. Many remote workers who left offices during the pandemic don’t want to return, and they are negotiating to remain remote. They’re relieved to be away from office politics and hovering bosses. Remote workers realize they can better manage daycare and doctor’s appointments while avoiding commutes and remaining highly productive. These workers would rather work from home or from coworking sites and they expect allowances or stipends for computers, internet, coworking rental and office supplies. Increasingly, if they need to collaborate in person, they’re asking their companies to rent satellite coworking spaces outside of expensive downtown areas and apart from their central offices, at remote locations where workers can pop in and collaborate without commuting too far. This is called a hub-and-spoke real estate company structure.

The coworking revolution isn’t confined to the private sector

Governments are getting into the coworking revolution, too. The General Services Administration (GSA), representing over 400 federal agencies, has begun to set up “flexible workspace solutions in order to occupy only the space needed in order to meet their missions and promote a responsible use of taxpayer dollars.”

These flexible workplaces are coworking sites where employees of different federal agencies can mingle and work, much as they do at private sector coworking sites. City government is getting into shared coworking sites, as well.

All scenarios offer the same payoff: workers gain a greater degree of well-being

These new and future arrangements have another thing in common: boundary busting that improves worker well-being. Whether helping workers take a break from a cramped cube in an office tower or a kitchen table in crowded living conditions, coworking expands the concept of work and combines flexibility, freedom and work satisfaction.

Earlier this year, the American Psychological Association’s 2021 Work and Well-being Survey found that 87% of employees “think actions from their employer would help their mental health.” Interestingly, the biggest number of those surveyed by the APA cited flexibility in worker office arrangements as the best way employers could support their wellbeing. 

The future of coworking is alive and well, with many benefits for workers and employers.