Although remote-working arrangements still dominate the majority of business operations in numerous industries that can afford to do so, we are seeing that a return to office life is still going to be part of how we work in the future. However, it probably may come to your surprise that the office you’re going back to work in may no longer be the same type of office that you’re used to. Shared workspace is becoming more and more popular.
More and more companies are choosing to operate from shared workspaces instead of traditional office spaces. One way to attribute this change is that since the remote-working arrangement is here to stay, a working space that is designed for flexibility may be a better option than one with traditional leases, especially if a hybrid working environment is intended to be the way forward for the company. So, which industries are making headway into this trend already?
Tech
A great majority of companies that use shared workspaces are those in the tech industries, and this number continues to rise in 2021. Whether you’re running a SaaS company or an e-commerce company, as long as you don’t require much interaction with your customers in person, there’s definitely merit in choosing to operate from shared workspaces rather than conducting your business from a traditional office space.
Since tech companies usually put more emphasis on using technology to increase work effectiveness, they can benefit greatly from choosing to operate from shared workspaces, such as co-working spaces, since they can direct their resources more on these technologies instead of spending them on traditional office spaces, which tend to have a long-term lease.
Consulting
Working in consulting-based fields, whether as a business consultant or an IT one, often means a high amount of travel and working with clients in their on-site location. With this type of working arrangement, a highly flexible working space would benefit everyone involved – the client, who can reach the consultant easily due to proximity, and the consultant, who can coordinate and accommodate the client’s needs without having to compromise on having the needed resources to perform their work.
Employees in consulting firms would gain even greater convenience if the firm can find a shared workspace with multiple branches, either in the same country or worldwide, so the employee can expect the same service quality that is needed to perform their work and can focus their attention on making sure that they can meet their client’s expectations.
Finance
Although this industry may not be first in mind when it comes to using shared workspaces, the fact is many finance companies, even traditional ones in banking and insurance services, do use shared office spaces such as coworking spaces. Of course, very few of them operate entirely from these spaces, but some of their teams do operate from these spaces as a temporary worksite.
Since the nature of the financial industry is that they tend to be heavily decentralized, it shouldn’t come to much of a surprise that they leverage coworking spaces to set up their teams for project-based work where the teams from the main office need to provide assistance for their branch offices. Besides project-based work, the use of shared working space is common amongst financial company employees who manage business client accounts.
Entertainment
The only industry that can rival tech when it comes to flexibility has got to be the entertainment industry. This is an industry that thrives and succeeds in project-based work, more so than even the most Agile-obsessed product manager. Though few coworking spaces cater specifically to this type of business, some do and design their spaces to attract writers, artists, musicians, and other creative workers who need a space for them to create.
The requirements for a coworking space dedicated to creative workers can be hefty, especially those that require making video-based content. WeWork pointed out that production rooms, recording studios, and editing bays are not just a bonus perk when it comes to their entertainment clients – they are must-have amenities. And as the number of content creators continues to rise, more coworking spaces would need to be able to accommodate this client type.
Finding a suitable space can be a challenge for any business. With the recent rise of remote working, normal point-of-considerations are thrown out the window and exchanged with arrangements that can accommodate the flexibility that most industries need now. Shared workspaces can fill the gaping space that traditional offices have yet to fill – but only if they can adjust to the needs unique to each industry.
