Coworking and a new golden era for the workplace and the people who inhabit it

The idea of coworking is starting to resonate with a growing number of businesses and for a growing number of reasons. People new to the concept, or those who are aware primarily of its roots, may discover or retain a notion that it is a way for start-ups and freelancers to share space as a way of keeping down costs or networking with similar organisations. There is still a great deal of truth in this, given that the initial growth of coworking was based almost exclusively on the need for small tech and creative organisations to occupy space near to their larger clients, in precisely those urban enclaves that demand eye-watering rents and conventional leases.

This is the main reason coworking’s roots are traceable to the city centre hotspots of London and New York, and why the idea then propagated most successfully in cities like Paris, Berlin, Tokyo and Melbourne.

Quite how extensive the World’s network of coworking spaces has become is apparent from a new interactive map published by the broker website coworking.com. Even allowing for the usual blurring of definitions of what constitutes a coworking space, this indicates remarkable growth for an idea for which we had no real word before 2005. There’s a good reason why this is an interactive map because the growth of the sector can only be determined as a snapshot.

This proliferation of spaces also indicates just how mainstream the idea has become, and not just in its traditional sectors and geographies. WeWork, the sector’s pioneering titan, is already the largest office occupier in London and Washington and recently claimed to have become the largest in Manhattan.

The shift will require a lot of adjustment in all of the various facets of the commercial property, workplace and facilities management sectors.

Perhaps most importantly, occupiers are starting to address their real estate strategy and consequently a key element of their business model and organisation. Although larger organisations might not see coworking as a total alternative to the traditional model of occupying space, they now frequently see it as part of a workplace strategy.

One model they find attractive is flex and core in which the firm combines a longer-term lease with a traditional landlord for its core functions and to maintain an identity alongside membership with a flexible workspace operator to make it more agile and responsive to change and to foster new ventures.