"Nearly half of remote workers are working in their kitchens, living rooms or randomly around their houses; only 36% have a dedicated space for work."
The way we work has changed, and the hybrid work model is here to stay. Several companies like Blavity, Adobe, Apple, Twitter, and Zoom announced that employees would work from home permanently. Even though the office is closed, coworking spaces are open for business.
Here are the top reasons to join a coworking or shared office space in 2022.
Community
Coworking spaces are usually smaller than traditional offices, which means less foot traffic and more meaningful connections.
Happiness
People who join coworking spaces are happier. According to Work Wise, 70% of people said joining a coworking space made them "very happy."
Deep Work
We all need uninterrupted time to get into “the zone” or “the flow” and get work done. Coworking spaces offer privacy and a distraction-free environment to help people be more productive.
What is a Coworking Space?
A coworking space is a neutral place where members from a wide range of companies,
businesses, or projects show up to work. Unlike traditional offices, people in a coworking environment generally do not work for the same company.
The essence of a coworking space is sharing. Today, we are deep into the sharing economy, where a portion of our spending is peer-to-peer. Think of Airbnb where you share someone's home or Lyft where you share someone's vehicle or shared commercial kitchens for chefs; coworking is sharing a building instead of buying or renting your own commercial space.
Why Do People Join Coworking Spaces?
Why people join will vary from person to person, but the Coworking Space Owner of Ambition Center MKE, here are the top reason that I hear:
Working from Home is Distracting
Having a home office is a privilege. According to Commercial Café, "nearly half of remote workers are working in their kitchens, living rooms or randomly around their houses; only 36% have a dedicated space for work." Not having a dedicated space to work with the distractions of spouses, roommates, and children makes sense why people need an alternative to working from home.
Other distractions include household chores and slow internet. One of the Ambition Center MKE member's services includes facilitating meetings, workgroups, and strategic plans for nonprofits across the state. Once the pandemic hit, all her contracts (or clients) went virtual. Given the nature of her work, having high-speed internet was nonnegotiable.
Coworking spaces offer a quiet, professional, and clean workspace with high-speed internet!
Working from Home is Lonely
Social isolation is defined as the lack of social contacts and having few people to interact with regularly. A 2021 study revealed that 7 in 10 remote workers still feel more isolated (full article here).
In early 2020 at the height of the pandemic, I had a meeting with a colleague who is a young corporate professional, single, and lives alone. During our meeting, he let me know that most days, he doesn't open his mouth to speak until his daily 4:00 PM team meeting. This conversation blew my mind, but it is the reality of so many people.
Imagine going through your entire workday without speaking or being an extrovert (like myself) who thrives from being around others and being in a fully remote role with minimal contact with peers.
Coworking spaces combat loneliness by having a shared workspace with other professionals and member-only events to connect with like-minded peers.
The Price
Owning a building or physical location can be very expensive for startup founders or new small business owners. Also, the average commercial lease term for a building is seven years!
Coworking spaces usually offer more flexible lease terms (like month-to-month at Ambition Center MKE) and more affordable prices since everyone is sharing the space.
Networking
Every college campus (and some high schools) has a student union, a shared space for students to gather and work. As adults, professionals, business owners, and creatives, we crave that same connection with others.
Coworking spaces allow you to connect with other ambitious people within your community and help build a sense of community and belonging.
Who do you Typically See in Coworking Spaces?
There is a growing number of specialty shared office and coworking like for women, mompreneurs, BIPOC men, parents, photographers, artists, etc. Since coworking is a growing industry, who you will see in coworking spaces will change. However, some typical personas include:
Remote Professionals/Knowledge Workers
Individuals with the flexibility to work from anywhere like Project Managers, Commercial Sales, Realtors, or IT Professionals.
Freelancers/Gig Workers
These individuals have temporary or contract jobs in the service sectors like Artists, Photographers, Videographers, Podcasters.
Small Business Owners
These are typically startup businesses with less than five team members or home-based entrepreneurs that offer business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) services.
Community Organizations
These are usually smaller, grassroots organizations and nonprofits that use coworking spaces to host board meetings, training workshops or need a headquarters to get things done.
What is Ambition Center MKE?
Ambition Center MKE is the most diverse and inclusive, and northernmost shared office and coworking space in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We are one of four Black-owned coworking spaces in the city of Milwaukee.
Cowork where Culture is Celebrated!
We opened in September 2021 to drive a positive impact for underrepresented individuals and communities.
Our vision is to empower and grow the ideas of professionals, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creatives by providing local access to technology, resources, mentorship, and strategic connections.
We are located at 530 E. Vienna Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53212. We offer private offices, general coworking space, a media room, event space, and conference rooms. The team would love to meet you. Use this link to book a tour today!
Stay Ambitious!
-Ambition Center Team
Website: https://www.ambitioncentermke.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ambitioncentermke/