In today’s business world, the concept of coworking spaces is becoming increasingly popular. Freelancers, remote workers, and small businesses are leveraging telecommuting increasingly often. A survey found that coworking spaces was the most favored workplace, just second to homes.
If you’re switching to a coworking space to start a new venture or set up your own business, a thorough analysis of the pros and cons can help you make a well-informed decision. Because it’s not just sharing cost and infrastructure but adopting a new environment with dynamic inhabitants. To find which office space is best for your company, you need to look into various aspects of it.
The Pros of a Coworking Space
It assists in community building.
At present, network building is one of the most crucial aspects of growth and productivity. Humans love to socialize. These perks are mainly associated with coworking spaces. 79% of coworkers have reported rapid growth in their networks. This has helped more than 50% of them to grab new and better job opportunities.
Coworking spaces build a diversified community. Recent research shows 86% of coworkers consider themselves a part of a community, which in turn makes them feel happy.
It provides convenience.
Coworking spaces are usually equipped with all the basic amenities. So, instead of spending time on secondary chores like arranging furniture or setting up scanners and printers, businesses can directly become operational from the first day. Coworking spaces also have a unified maintenance system, which further lessens the burden on the businesses.
It offers flexibility.
Shaking hands with some high-end coworking space providers, your business can avoid the hassle of managing bills and other such stuff, thus boosting the productivity of the team. Avoiding upfront fees also blesses a sigh of relief to the startups from initial expenses. Additionally, flexible leasing requirements and easy payment schedules further facilitate the business’s growth.
It eases the process of scaling.
Every new business sooner or later is likely to fluctuate. Unfortunate events can bring them down, or successful strategies can result in exceptional growth. In permanent offices, arranging more space is usually an arduous task. But, coworking places always have room for easy scaling, either downward or upward. It ensures seamless growth without hurting your budget.
The Cons of a Cowork Space
Budget can still be a problem.
The primary purpose behind choosing a coworking space is budget. Leasing an office or buying a property is really expensive; that’s why most businesses or startups look for coworking spaces to save up the cost. But coworking spaces aren’t that cheap to be called an easy alternative to private offices, especially for new setups or freelancers.
If professional coworking spaces are slipping away from your budgetary limits, then freelancers or other self-employed persons can utilize coffee shops or public libraries. These are usually free with fast availability of WiFi and other amenities.
Distractions can affect productivity.
On average, 185 people usually work at a single coworking space worldwide. Though such places prioritize maintaining discipline, no one can actually control phone calls, meetings, or other such disturbances. Such crowded workplaces create distractions for professionals making it hard to focus. Especially self-employed or freelancers who love to work alone or in silence end up inefficient.
This compromise in efficiency affects the overall productivity of the team. At private offices, businesses can easily establish desired work environment, which is usually not feasible in coworking spaces.
Compromise on privacy.
Most coworking space providers prefer to invite companies from the same industries. In addition, glass separations are usually placed to offer a spacious appearance of the work area. This results in a compromise in privacy, especially for the companies where meetings and calls are kept confidential. Businesses develop and implement their personalized strategies to outplay competitors, which are usually kept secret. In shared workplaces, mainly when similar organizations operate under one roof, privacy gets a hard blow.
Restrictions on Customization.
Though coworking spaces offer unparalleled opportunities to scale up or scale down your business, lack of customization is a significant concern. In private offices, you’re open to advertising your business in your desired way. Additionally, the design and decor of your workplace can totally be according to your brand voice. In contrast, coworking spaces restrict these opportunities.
The Bottom Line.
The concept of coworking spaces is expanding exponentially due to the convenience, flexibility, and cost-saving that comes with them. But, these aren’t ideal for every company, especially where the precision of work and privacy of documents is the top priority. So, before making a choice, list down your business priorities and compare them with the pros and cons of coworking spaces to make a well-informed decision.
