Coworking is an arrangement in which
workers for different companies share an
office
An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...
space. It allows cost savings and convenience through the use of common infrastructures, such as equipment, utilities and receptionist and custodial services, and in some cases refreshments and parcel acceptance services. It is attractive to
independent contractor
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...
s,
independent scientist
An independent scientist (historically also known as gentleman scientist) is a financially independent scientist who pursues scientific study without direct affiliation to a public institution such as a university or government-run research and ...
s,
remote workers,
digital nomad
Digital nomads are people who travel freely while working remotely using technology and the internet. Such people generally have minimal material possessions and work remotely in temporary housing, hotels, cafes, public libraries, co-working spac ...
s, and people who travel frequently. Additionally, coworking helps workers avoid the feeling of
social isolation
Social isolation is a state of complete or near-complete lack of contact between an individual and society. It differs from loneliness, which reflects temporary and involuntary lack of contact with other humans in the world. Social isolation ...
they may experience while
remote working or traveling and eliminate distractions in
home office. Most coworking spaces charge membership dues. Major companies that provide coworking space and
serviced offices include
WeWork
WeWork Inc. is a provider of coworking spaces, including physical and virtual shared spaces, headquartered in New York City. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated of space, including in the United States and Canada, in 756 locatio ...
and
IWG plc
IWG plc, formerly Regus, is a British holding company.[IWG PLC]
Bloomberg. Accessed June 2021. It provide ...
.
Types
Coworking is not only about providing a physical place, but also about establishing a community. Its rapid growth has been seen as a possible way for city planners to address the decline of high street retail in urban centres. Its benefits can already be experienced outside of the physical spaces, and it is recommended to start with building a coworking community first before considering opening a coworking place.
However, some coworking places have no community building; they just get a part of an existing one by combining their opening with an event which attracts their target group.
Coworking tends to fall into two sides: Those that are real-estate-centric (all about selling desks and offices first) while others are community-centric (focused on building community that happens to also have offices or desks.) Players target freelance professionals, remote workers, and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) who need a space and seek a community with a collaborative spirit. Customers also often benefit from professional services such as printing or incorporation or consulting.
Coworking is distinct from business accelerators,
business incubators
Business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services starting with management training and office space and ending with venture ca ...
, and
executive suite
An executive suite in its most general definition is a collection of offices or rooms—or suite—used by top managers of a business—or executives. Over the years, this general term has taken on a variety of specific meanings.
Corporate offi ...
s. These spaces do not fit into the coworking model because they often miss the social, collaborative, and informal aspects of the process. In coworking, management practices are closer to that of a
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
, including a focus on community rather than profit. Some coworking participants are also involved in an
unconference
An unconference is a participant-driven meeting. The term "unconference" has been applied, or self-applied, to a wide range of gatherings that try to avoid hierarchical aspects of a conventional conference, such as sponsored presentations and t ...
such as
BarCamp.
Some coworking spaces are geared towards particular niches. For example, CoWorking With Wisdom, in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
, combines coworking with
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
,
mindfulness, and
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...
programs,
The Wing was founded for "the advancement of a certain type of woman", and Work and Play in
South Orange, New Jersey has onsite childcare for entrepreneurial parents. Coworking spaces with a religious aspect include Epiphany Space, a Los Angeles space for artists, and SketchPad, a Chicago space for Jewish not-for-profit organizations.
History
Between 2006 and 2015, a few studies showed that the number of coworking spaces and available seats have roughly doubled each year.
Coworking was preceded by European hacker spaces of the 1990s, where programmers would exchange skills and best practices.
Some coworking places were developed by
remote workers and
entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
seeking an alternative to working in
coffeehouses and cafes, or to isolation in independent or home offices.
Another major factor that drives demand for coworking is the growing role of
independent contractors
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...
and
digital nomad
Digital nomads are people who travel freely while working remotely using technology and the internet. Such people generally have minimal material possessions and work remotely in temporary housing, hotels, cafes, public libraries, co-working spac ...
s.
In Asia Pacific
Coworking in Asia has become very popular as space is limited in regions like
China,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
The major metropolitan cities in each of these regions are every day coming up with new coworking ideas and spaces, promoting emerging startups and business to adopt the trend. Research from commercial brokerage firm
JLL found that flexible work space in Asia-Pacific, including both
serviced offices and coworking, surged 150% from 2014 to 2017.
In Pacific countries such as
Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, coworking has been made popular as the prices of commercial spaces and bills rise, with coworking being up to 25% cheaper for most freelancers and businesses.
In Hong Kong for example, dozens of coworking spaces have been set up to foster the rapidly growing startup community; according to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' it is among the leading tech locations in the world, along with
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
. Spread across almost all districts, coworking places can be found everywhere while the majority of places are situated on
Hong Kong Island and there predominantly in the
Central and
Sheung Wan districts.
The
Malaysian state
The states and federal territories of Malaysia are the principal administrative divisions of Malaysia. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states (''Negeri'') and 3 federal territories (''Wilayah Persekutuan'').
States and federal territories
Ele ...
of
Penang, long regarded as the ''Silicon Valley of the East'', has also witnessed an increase in coworking spaces.
Aside from privately owned
startups
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...
, the
Penang state government
The Government of Penang ( ms, Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang) refers to the government authority of the Malaysian state of Penang. The state government adheres to and is created by both the Constitution of Malaysia, the supreme law of Malaysia, an ...
has embarked on a drive to convert colonial-era buildings in the capital city of
George Town into coworking spaces.
As well as tech startups, coworking is becoming increasingly common amongst
digital nomad
Digital nomads are people who travel freely while working remotely using technology and the internet. Such people generally have minimal material possessions and work remotely in temporary housing, hotels, cafes, public libraries, co-working spac ...
s in Asia. A 2011 survey found most coworkers are currently in their late twenties to late thirties, with an average age of 34 years. Two-thirds are men, one third are women. Four in five coworkers started their career with a university education. The majority of coworkers work in
creative industries or
new media
New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...
. Slightly more than half of all coworkers are freelancers.
Coworking is popular in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. According to a 2017 report by real estate firm
CBRE, there are 350 shared office operators present in India spread across more than 800 locations. Leasing activity by coworking and business center operators more than tripled on 2016.
In
Australia,
WeWork
WeWork Inc. is a provider of coworking spaces, including physical and virtual shared spaces, headquartered in New York City. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated of space, including in the United States and Canada, in 756 locatio ...
and Spaces are present, challenging locally owned and operated companies. Hub Australia is the largest, privately owned Australian coworking operator. With many independent operators opening smaller specialist sites (including in rural and regional areas of the large country), some larger providers have expanded nationwide, with the distance between major cities an asset to both the coworking provider and the community.
In
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Coworking business is very popular in metro city as Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities of India. In India during 2017 and 2018 indicates a marked increase. While in 2017, the space leased was 1.9 million sq. ft., it increased more than two times to 3.9 million sq. ft. in 2018. India has the third-largest startup ecosystem after China and the US with more than 5,200 startups. Now many major cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi,
Ahmedabad and Chennai have coworking spaces and they are increasing by the day due to the startups.
In Europe
In 2017, Europe ranked third as a region in terms of the number of coworking spaces, behind the United States (3,205) and Asia (3,975).
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
opened its first coworking space in 2008, La Cantine, located in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.
The
U.K.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
is among the most responsive European country to the idea of collaborative working, with a special focus on
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. In the city, the Shoreditch area leads the coworking market, not only for the large number of coworking places it offers but also for the variety of places that exist to fit the differing needs among start-ups, entrepreneurs and freelancers.
Camden Collective is a regeneration project in London that re-purposes previously vacant and underused properties that opened its first ‘wire-less, wall-less’ coworking space in 2009.
In June 2013, the
Government of the United Kingdom
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, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
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, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
announced it would be applying coworking principles to a new pilot scheme for its 'One Public Sector Estate' strategy covering 12 local authorities in England, which will encourage councils to work with central government departments and other bodies so that staff share buildings. This will enable the authorities to encourage collaboration as well as re-use or release property and land deemed surplus to requirements, cutting spending and freeing up land for local development.
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
At the beginning of 2022, the Pärnu Start-Up Center coworking space opened in Pärnu. Their aim is to connect remote workers and small entrepreneurs who usually work in a café or at home, offering them a comfortable business centre where they can work in peace and meet their clients. Helping local business community to grow and make new contacts. Believing in the power of community and collaboration, and knowlage that together they can make the impossible possible. The building Hommiku 5 was renovated and funded for digital professionals by Chi Keung Ivan Wong from Hong Kong.
Coworking is also common in continental Europe, in places such as
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
.
Smaller urban areas with many young and creative people and especially
College towns may offer coworking places, with ''Cowork
Greifswald
Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rosto ...
'' in Germany being one example. Cooperation between coworking spaces and academic environments are focused.
In North America
Since Neuberg started the coworking movement in 2005, San Francisco continues to have a large presence in the coworking community and is home to a growing number of coworking spaces. Also in the
Bay Area,
Anca Mosoiu established Tech Liminal in 2009, a coworking place in
Oakland.
The coworking model for office space is extremely popular in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. In fact, a 2018 study done by Yardi Matrix, recognized Miami as the US city with most co-working spaces per square foot. Coworking has also spread into many other metropolitan areas, with cities such as
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
,
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...
, and
Columbus, Ohio now offering several coworking venues. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of suburban and rural coworking spaces including Amarillo, Texas, Des Moines, Iowa, Independence, Oregon and Indianapolis, Indiana.
The New York coworking community has also been evolving rapidly in
Regus
IWG plc, formerly Regus, is a British holding company.[IWG PLC]
Bloomberg. Accessed June 2021. It provide ...
and
Rockefeller Group Business Center
Founded in 1994 by Ric Sondik, Rockefeller Group Business Centers is a New York corporation that provides short-term workplaces. Currently, they operate a business center In Rockefeller Center's International Building. Their client base is about 5 ...
.
WeWork
WeWork Inc. is a provider of coworking spaces, including physical and virtual shared spaces, headquartered in New York City. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated of space, including in the United States and Canada, in 756 locatio ...
and other services have a large presence. The demand for coworking in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
neighborhoods is high due to the increased number of
millennials in the workforce; nearly one in 10 workers in the
Gowanus, Brooklyn
Gowanus ( ) is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community District 6. Gowanus is bounded by Wyckoff Street on ...
area are
remote workers. The industrial area of Gowanus is seeing a surge in new startups that are redesigning old buildings into new coworking spaces. In Brooklyn, in 2008, the first green-focused coworking space in the US, called Green Spaces, was founded by Jennie Nevin, and it expanded in 2009 to
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
and has been a driving force for green entrepreneurship through the collaboration of coworking.
In Africa
In 2011,
Co-Creation Hub
Co-Creation Hub, commonly referred to as Cc-HUB or the HUB, is a technology-oriented centre located in Yaba, a district of Lagos. Founded in 2010 by Bosun Tijani and Femi Longe, it provides a platform where technology-oriented people share ideas ...
was founded in
Yaba, Lagos by
Bosun Tijani
Olatunbosun Tijani (20 July 1977) is a Nigerian-British Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, co-founder, and CEO of Co-Creation Hub. Co-Creation Hub works at the forefront of accelerating the application of innovation and social capital for a better ...
and Femi Longe, it is often referred to as Cc-Hub and it houses over 50 startups such as BudgIT, GoMyWay, Lifebank, Findworka, Autobox
IHub
iHub is an Innovation hub and hacker space for the technology community in Nairobi. It was started in March 2010 by Erik Hersman, a blogger, TED fellow, and entrepreneur and acquired by Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) in 2019. This coworking space, ...
is also an innovation hub and incubator space for startups founded by
Erik Hersman
Erik Hersman (born 1975) is a technologist, blogger and commentator who specialises in the impact and application of technology throughout Africa. Raised in Sudan and Kenya, he is a graduate of Kenya's Rift Valley Academy and Florida State Unive ...
in 2010. iHub was a pioneering coworking space in Africa, in 2019 Cc-hub announces the acquisition of
IHub
iHub is an Innovation hub and hacker space for the technology community in Nairobi. It was started in March 2010 by Erik Hersman, a blogger, TED fellow, and entrepreneur and acquired by Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) in 2019. This coworking space, ...
in Nairobi,
Kenya
)
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...
.
Ventures Park was founded in 2016 in
Abuja by Kola Aina. Its an artsy space for freelancer, entrepreneurs, professionals, and startups manage their operations and network. They launched a Campus Co-working space in
University of Abuja known as Ventures Platform campus
See also
*
Coworker (company)
*
Coworking space providers
*
Hot desking
Hot desking (sometimes called "non-reservation-based hoteling") is an office organization system that involves multiple workers using a single physical work station or surface during different time periods. The "desk" in the name refers to a tab ...
*
Office sharing
*
Outsourcing
*
Collaboration
*
SOHO China
References
Further reading
*
*
*
{{Commons category, Coworking space
Business process
Workplace