By Roel Boer — founder of Nordgard
Coworking spaces are booming. From 2005 to 2020, the number of people who work remotely doubled from 2% to 4%. In 2020, almost half of working Americans would be willing to quit their job to work remotely — a trend called ‘nomadism.’ Coworking is a great way for these nomads to have an office presence without having to rent one or deal with per diems.
Demand for coworking spaces is growing roughly 25% YoY, with the number of memberships growing by an average of 20% per month. The high demand for coworking spaces has led to many new spaces opening up, which in turn increases the supply of available seats. This isn’t true everywhere though: some cities are seeing a rise in office rents due to a shortage of buildings suitable for large-scale developments, causing more people than ever before to consider working from home or renting short-term offices at higher prices than they would otherwise pay if space were available nearby instead (or if they lived elsewhere).
New York has the most coworking space in the world with 1,000 locations and 6.5 million square feet.
New York is a hotbed of coworking spaces. With 1,000 locations and over 6.5 million square feet of space, New York has more coworking spaces than any other city in the world. This includes co-working giants WeWork and Industrious which have occupied huge office buildings throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn to create their own massive networks of shared offices.
There are also smaller, boutique options like The Hive, which specializes in creating communities for entrepreneurs and small businesses with flexible terms on monthly memberships or day passes (if you don’t mind sharing a desk). For professionals who want to work while they travel, there are companies like Remote Year that allow you to work remotely while traveling around the world via yacht or private jet. How cool is that?
Almost half of working Americans would be willing to quit their job to work remotely.
What’s more, an incredible 43% of working Americans would be willing to quit their job to work remotely. In fact, a study by Remote Workplace Explorer found that 61% of employees would prefer the option to work remotely over receiving pay raises or bonuses. While this may seem like a no-brainer — working from home is clearly more convenient than commuting each day and dealing with traffic — it’s important to note that many people might not actually value remote work as much as they initially think they do.
The coworking space industry has grown rapidly in recent years, and it’s becoming an important pillar of the remote work movement. In fact, there are nearly 20,000 coworking spaces worldwide. The number of coworking spaces is expected to double again in the next five years.
Coworking can be either free or memberships start at $100 a month and range up to $2,000 depending on how much access to the space that you want. The price varies based on location and amenities. For example, a coworking space in San Francisco will be more expensive than one in Denver because — amongst other reasons — of higher real estate costs in San Francisco. The main point here is that there are many different options available and it’s all about finding a balance between what your needs are the requirements of your job, and your budget.
At the end of the day though, coworking spaces provide many benefits. They reduce commute times by allowing people to work from home, they give employees access to other professionals who can help with their projects, and they offer opportunities for collaboration with new people. The list goes on and on.
Better WiFi than your local Starbucks
If you’ve ever worked out of a coworking space, you know that it’s one of the best ways to get work done. The idea behind coworking is simple: instead of working from home or in your office, you go somewhere with other people and share the space. They might be freelancers like you or employees who are working remotely for their company. Some people even call these places “hacker hostels” or “co-working hotels.”
Coworking spaces have become increasingly popular over the past few years because they give you access to shared resources such as printers, copiers, and fax machines — not to mention all those other things that make life easier when you don’t have them at home (like a professional fully stocked kitchen). And now that more people are doing remote work thanks to technology like Slack and Google Hangouts (among others), coworking spaces may even offer better WiFi than your local Starbucks.
Coworking is an important pillar of remote work!
Coworking is an important pillar of remote work. For people who work remotely, the ability to collaborate with others and the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals are essential parts of job satisfaction. And for companies interested in encouraging employees to work remotely, coworking spaces provide a way for them to create a sense of community without having everyone physically together. Coworking spaces also help people be more productive by providing easy access to information, resources, and networking opportunities that can’t all be found from home alone.
If you’re looking to make the switch from working at home or in a traditional office space to remote work, coworking is an excellent solution. The flexible environment and social aspect of these spaces give you the freedom to work anywhere while still having access to amenities that would normally come with renting an office. This makes it easy for those who want or need more face time with their coworkers but don’t have access to a physical office space due to location restrictions (like being overseas).