What Is Coworking and What Are Its Benefits?

There’s a lot of talk around town about the benefits of coworking in a shared office space. Now more than ever, businesses are looking for flexibility and mobility in their working arrangements.

On the one hand, they need to be able to adapt to changing circumstances from week to week, and on the other hand, they also need to make the shift towards the permanent hybrid work models of the future.

In this article, we give you a picture of exactly what a coworking office is, how it works, and how it can benefit business operations.

Coworking Meaning and Benefits

So what is coworking?

The basic idea of a coworking office is that different individuals and enterprises share the same office space. The office space is owned by a third party, who is responsible for managing it. Managing a shared office can mean providing everything from furniture to corporate services—you can learn more about these below.

These are the nuts and bolts of what a coworking office space is. But to really understand the meaning of a coworking office, we have to think less about what the space is and think more about how it works.

Let’s take a deeper look at how coworking offices work and what the benefits are of using them.

Convenience from the Get-Go

Straight off the bat, the benefits of a coworking space office begin with how easy it is to use it. Coworking offices should come already set up with essential office equipment, meaning not only that you save money splashing out on expensive gear, but also that you can get up and running right away.

The convenience of coworking spaces is what makes them a favourite for young business enterprises that are looking to get off the ground quickly without having to invest in equipment or commit to long-term contracts. But this attribute offers value to all types of organisations—from young to old and big to small.

Many businesses will use coworking offices as a transition setup when searching for new premises, but end up staying when they experience their convenience. But many businesses will also opt for a coworking office space because it provides them with a range of facilities and services that they wouldn’t be able to have in a private office.

At Christie Spaces, all of our coworking space memberships come with access to ergonomic desks and chairs, storage facilities, business-class printers, super-fast WiFi, breakrooms, kitchens, and meeting rooms. We also offer an array of services, including mail and package handling, security, concierge, catering, event organisation, and conferencing.

In sum, coworking offices come set up from the get-go, and they’re set up better than most private offices could ever hope to be.

All-Round Flexibility

At this moment in history, there’s never been a greater need for flexibility in the way we work. As we all know by now, the last 18 months have permanently changed how we are going to work in the future.

Many businesses have gone hybrid or fully remote, meaning they no longer have a need to operate a large permanent office space. What these businesses need instead is a flexible office space that mirrors the changing nature of their work.

A coworking space gives businesses the ability to alter how they work from day to day, week to week, or month to month. They might want, for example, to maintain a core team in permanent office space, rotate other team members through a hot-desking space throughout the week, and get everyone together once a week for a collaboration session. Or they might want to do something completely different.

Alternatively, you might work on your own or in a partnership, in which case the way you use a coworking office would be completely different. You might want to come in every day to use a desk space or split your time between home and the office to be on hand for family duties. You might even just want to use the meeting rooms in your office space on an ad-hoc basis when you need to catch up with clients.

The point about a coworking space is that you can use it however you need it. Best of all, since you don’t need to commit to rigid multi-year lease contracts, you can evolve how you use the space over time.

Whether the size of your team, your business strategy, or your personal life changes, you can rejig your arrangements.

Connectivity and Collaboration

Sharing a coworking space with other individuals and enterprises affords you the opportunity to forge new professional relationships on a week-to-week basis.

When you enter a coworking space, the likelihood is that there is going to be a lot of diversity amongst the kinds of businesses operating there. You’ll find accountants, media consultants, creative designers, service providers, and distributors all working side by side—along with all the other types of professionals you could imagine.

More than just being interesting to talk to over a coffee in the breakroom, these people can be excellent business contacts. They could be your future clients, consultants, or collaborative partners—or they might introduce you to other professionals who fulfil these roles.

More simply, working alongside a diverse array of professionals gives you the opportunity to exchange ideas and know-how. The point is that a coworking office space provides you with the opportunity to forge new professional connections each day you go to work.

At Christie Spaces, we also help you make the most of your shared office environment by putting on regular social and professional events.

Coworking at Christie Spaces

We’ve given you the lowdown on what a coworking space is, how it works, and what some of its benefits are. But the truth is that the benefits of coworking can really only be properly understood through experience. To understand what makes coworking so great, you need to feel the environment itself—its dynamism, its flexibility, and its collaborativeness.

In the case of a Christie Spaces coworking office, you also need to experience the beauty of the space itself—bright and modern with all the amenities you’d expect to find in the offices of a top-flight corporation.

If you want to properly understand the benefits of a coworking office space, get in touch with Christie Spaces today.