What is Coworking Office Space?

A coworking space is a desk or a pod of desks within a shared office facility such as a coworking centre or serviced office centre. Coworking spaces come with desks, chairs and internet as well as access to communal facilities like meeting rooms and breakout spaces. But coworking isn’t just about the physical layout of the office.

Coworking spaces have emerged in response to modern styles of work – people increasingly seek to learn from and engage with others throughout their business journey, and coworking spaces provide the perfect productive environment in which to collaborate. It brings together people from different businesses and industries to learn and grow from each other. Co-share offices mix digital-age business facilities with lifestyle spaces such as cafes, lounges and fitness centres to help members achieve life balance while complementary event programmes educate and empower members to grow their success. Some might even have rooftop terraces, games rooms and bars, and the overall mood is way more creative, way less corporate.

What are the Benefits of Coworking?

The human factor is a major benefit of coworking – it’s a sociable way of working that helps individuals and small teams free themselves of isolation and gain access to an engaged community of like-minded professionals. Coworking operators aim to fuel the social benefits and encourage collaboration between members with networking events, educational workshops and other occasions. What started as a way to help freelancers meet and work with like-minds has now become a great way for larger businesses and international corporations to keep an ear to the ground, collaborate with innovative startups and build a dynamic culture for employees.

The benefits of coworking offices go beyond the human factor as they also enhance business flexibility and financial viability. Coworking spaces are instantly ready to use and membership packages can be changed at a moment’s notice to add services, book facilities and include more desks as you grow. For this reason, coworking spaces are popular among startups and growth-phases businesses, while larger organisations are quickly catching on to the culture benefits of coworking.

As more businesses move to flexible workspaces, there are creative, corporate and niche coworking centres popping up to suit every business and industry. Dream big, attract opportunity and achieve your next level in a coworking office near you.

Who is coworking suitable for?

Coworking is a concept originally created and suited for startups and creatives due to its affordability and sociable atmosphere. However, nowadays the wealth of benefits linked to coworking is attracting both startups, enterprises and everything in between. For a startup coworking might be suitable as it presents a fully furnished, ready-to-move-in office solution at a fantastic value for money. On the other hand, an enterprise might look to coworking for a quick turnaround in creating a customised space while providing its employees with the perfect work-life balance.

Although coworking truly offers an affordable, flexible way of working along with numerous perks, it may not be suitable for every business. Especially for a business uninterested in the communal space, the events on offer and the sociable aspect of coworking. Nevertheless, that does not mean you have to sign a conventional lease; you can rent spare desks or offices in someone else’s commercial lease and still enjoy lower costs and month-to-month flexibility.

If you are not quite sure whether coworking is in line with your business, contact Office Hub to receive help and advice in sourcing the perfect flexible office space for you.

What do I need to consider when looking for a coworking space?

Considering there are more coworking centres worldwide than ever before, choosing the right space can be a daunting task. With one coworking space more fabulous than the next, it’s vital not to get distracted by the bean bags and free flowing coffee and focus on the basics. Although every business has different needs and requirements, you will save a lot of headaches by considering the fundamentals. This includes location, setup and size of your dedicated workspace, reliable IT & support, meeting rooms and what amenities and facilities are included in your rent.

If you’re still unsure how to steer through your office search, Office Hub’s team of experts are here to guide you every step of the way with impartial advice and seamless assistance - and we’re just a quick phone call away!

Coworking for enterprises

Businesses of all shapes and sizes are starting to recognise the benefits associated with coworking. Coworking centres today are the domain of multinational corporations as much as they are startups and small businesses. It’s not just an extremely affordable office solution, but along with a collaborative culture and fantastic amenities, it strikes the perfect work-life balance for all employees. Enterprises are in large enquiring on a private office solutions within a coworking space. Providing the peace and quiet to focus on the business, while still connected to the coworking community and tapping into all its benefits. Numerous coworking centres even offer personalised enterprise solutions with customised private workspace occupying whole floors in order to accommodate the increasing demand from the enterprise sector.

Different types of coworking

All coworking spaces have a different look and feel, but usually comprise of an open plan layout with desks dispersed throughout while some may provide private office space – particularly as the industry moves towards a “hybrid” model of open plan and private space. It can be slightly confusing to navigate the landscape of coworking and figure out exactly what type of workspace they offer and what is suitable for your business. Below we have outlined some of the types of workspaces you can expect to find within a coworking space.

A dedicated desk is exactly what is sounds like – a workstation dedicated to you and only you! Set within the open plan area, you’ll share the common areas with the other members, but the desk and chair are exclusively yours, often including a lockable storage cabinet. The convenient thing about a dedicated desk is that you can leave your belongings for the duration of your membership, rather than packing everything up at the end of the day. This makes a dedicated desk a little pricier than a hot desk, but it’s the more popular option of the two as the majority of the coworking population prefers having a secure spot to work every day.

A hot desk is similar to a dedicated desk in that you are paying for a desk in an open plan area. The main difference is that you won’t have an assigned workstation so this spot might vary from day to day. For this reason a hot desk is usually cheaper than a dedicated desk. Nevertheless, you will always have a seat and will enjoy access to the same onsite amenities such as meeting facilities, kitchen and breakout areas for downtime.

A private office can range from a single person office, to a whole floor with multiple offices, meeting rooms and open plan areas within. The key thing is that the space, however big it is, is lockable and exclusively accessed by you. Private office space is great for confidentiality and security, plus you still get access to the communal facilities so you never feel isolated. At the moment this specific type of workspace is the most popular in the flexible office industry.

Fun fact: In 2019, Office Hub recorded 80 percent of enquiries seeking private office space as opposed to open plan.