Although coworking spaces have been around since the 90s, they’ve recently experienced a huge surge in popularity. Statistics show that this is a sector that’s now set to steadily grow by 13% each year. Estimates predict that there’ll be more than 40,000 coworking spaces around the world by the end of 2024, which is almost double what there were in 2021.
The big question is…why has coworking become so incredibly popular all of a sudden? Keep reading as Circle Hub explains!
What Exactly is Coworking?
Coworking is a working model that involves various professionals sharing a workspace while working independently. It first became popular among freelancers but is now used by people from just about every industry. Many companies are now also moving their bases to coworking spaces, with this way of working offering up a number of benefits to both employer and employee.
Coworking Offers a Huge Amount of Flexibility
One of the reasons why coworking has become so popular is because it offers a massive amount of flexibility in so many different ways. For example, it’s ideal for businesses that may need to suddenly scale up or scale down. With no long-term contracts involved, growth won’t be restricted in any way.
There’s plenty of flexibility when it comes to how you work too. If you prefer to drop in and out at your choosing without having to book a desk, you’ll be able to do just that. In fact, this concept is at the heart of coworking! At Circle Hub, we offer Hot Spots that our members are free to use whenever they desire. You don’t have to restrict yourself to a desk either – sprawl out on a beanbag, lounge on a sofa…it’s all up to you!
Of course, if that doesn’t work for you, the flexibility of coworking spaces means that there are plenty of other options. For example, if you’d prefer to book a specific desk, knowing that it will then be guaranteed available for when you need it, you could go with our Designated Desk service. This isn’t offered by all coworking spaces, so be sure to look into it when choosing a space to work at.
What if a single desk isn’t going to be enough for your team’s brainstorming session? Coworking spaces offer solutions for that too! At Circle Hub, for example, you could choose to rent a private office suite. The largest holds five desks, offering plenty of room for a casual meeting. If that’s still not enough, you could choose to book one of our conference rooms. These provide seating for even more people. Both options are available to book by the hour, making them extremely convenient.
Coworking Spaces Offer a Cost-Effective Alternative to Traditional Offices
Before coworking was an option, anyone who wanted to upgrade from their home office would have to hire an office space of their own. As you can imagine, this could be pretty pricey, making it an unrealistic option for many freelancers and startups. This is why, over the years, so many professionals who don’t have a suitable working environment at home have had to resort to working from their local coffee shop.
However, coworking’s budget-friendly nature changed that. Rather than landing individuals and businesses with an eye-watering monthly rental cost, coworking spaces offer a much more reasonable membership fee. Their affordability, along with the fact that there aren’t any long-term commitments required, appeals to those who are trying to counter rising costs in an uncertain world.
Even better, there are so many other additional costs that businesses no longer need to worry about when operating from a coworking space. Take electricity, for example, or WiFi. Coworking spaces will also ensure that working areas are professionally cleaned, saving your business from yet another bill.
As we’ll soon discuss, coworking spaces also offer access to amenities that you wouldn’t have been able to enjoy if you had hired your own traditional office space. The kitchen area at Circle Hub, for example, could save you a pretty penny! You’ll be able to whip up a quick meal or snack whenever you feel peckish, rather than having to purchase something from an expensive coffee shop or restaurant. We also provide free beverages, with these savings really adding up if you can’t live without your regular caffeine fix!
Coworking Provides Access to Game-Changing Amenities
Many people notice that making the move to a coworking space helps to improve their work/life balance. This can be attributed to a number of factors, one of which is the various amenities that some coworking spaces offer.
At Circle Hub, our onsite gym is particularly popular. Research shows that not only does physical activity improve your health but it can also improve your performance at work. Unfortunately, many professionals struggle to make time for the gym, which is why having one at your workplace makes life so much more convenient. Whether you squeeze in a morning workout, exercise during your lunch break, or save your sessions for the evening, being able to set aside some ‘me time’ to focus on exercising could really benefit how you work.
Of course, sometimes you need some downtime that’s physically relaxing. That’s where our gaming room comes in. A short gaming session can really help to refresh your mind, with studies showing that it can actually increase productivity by 20%! Plus, spending time playing video games with our other members will also help you to meet new, like-minded people and expand both your professional and social network!
Coworking is Great For Networking and Collaboration
Not only can working on your own day in and day out get pretty lonely, but it also really limits you when it comes to networking and collaboration. Both play key roles in ensuring the success of a business. The more you’re able to network and collaborate, the stronger your business will likely be.
More and more people are realizing this, which is another reason why coworking has been rising in popularity so rapidly. Coworking spaces focus on facilitating both networking and collaboration, making them so much easier.
How do they do this?
Well, at Circle Hub, we host regular networking events where our members can meet and get to know one another. From free breakfasts to yoga sessions, these events are all casual. We find that a relaxed and informal environment is ideal for encouraging our members to network.
We also have several common areas where our members can spend some downtime hanging out with each other. If you need some fresh insight on a project that you’re working on, strike up a conversation with some of the people around you. You’ll likely head back to your desk feeling utterly inspired!
If you aren’t a natural extrovert and find it difficult to meet new people, our community manager can help. Simply reach out to them and they’ll be able to introduce you to a few relevant people. This can help to break the ice and give you a good start on your networking efforts!
Coworking Can Boost Productivity and Creativity
Everyone wants to be as productive and creative as possible, and this is something that coworking can help with.
How?
In a few different ways. For starters, coworking spaces usually offer a bright and inspiring environment to work from. You won’t feel cramped and claustrophobic in a tight and dreary cubicle. Instead, you’ll be able to soak up plenty of natural light in an open-plan setting, complete with motivational decor! This on its own is enough to ramp up a person’s productivity.
The flexibility that we mentioned earlier helps with productivity too. Sitting at the same desk and staring at the same view each day can feel quite stagnant. On the other hand, being able to move around to different work environments as you please can really help you to beat burnout while improving your problem-solving skills.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that not everyone feels productive at the same time of day. This is why many aren’t fond of the 9-5 routine. However, some coworking spaces, including Circle Hub, offer 24/7 access. Whether you’re a night owl or an early bird, you’ll be able to turn up whenever you want to. This will enable you to work during the hours in which you feel the most productive and creative.
Let’s also not forget that when you work at a coworking space, you’ll be surrounded by other people who are being super productive. It won’t take long for this energy to rub off on you, and you’ll soon be doing the same thing!
Working From a Coworking Space Gives You a More Professional Edge
We’ve already talked about how coworking gives you an easy yet cost-effective way to work from a professional setting, rather than from home. This will immediately make you and your business seem more professional too. For example, you’ll be able to host meetings in sleek offices and conference rooms, rather than having to meet a client in a public space.
How does this help if your business doesn’t require you to physically meet other people?
Well, if you pick a coworking space like Circle Hub, you’ll also be able to use our prestigious street address as your own. We offer a virtual office service that allows you to make use of our address on your business cards, website, marketing material, and everything else. As you can imagine, this will make your business appear so much more professional, as well as more trustworthy, compared to if you had used your home address. It’s also much safer too – nobody wants their home address splashed all over the internet!
Even more conveniently, we’ll handle any incoming mail that you receive. We can hold this for you until you’re able to pick it up or we can also digitally forward it on.
Coworking at Circle Hub
As you can see, there are a number of reasons why coworking spaces have become so popular lately. Many now offer so much more than just a desk to work at, making them well worth the monthly membership fee.
If you would like to find out more about the coworking facilities offered by Circle Hub, click here to book a tour and check out our workspaces for yourself!