Connections with others are a big reason why people pay to work in a communal space, as opposed to working from home for free or renting a nondescript office. Thus, paradoxically, some limited form of structure enables an optimal degree of control for independent workers. Coworkers reported that having a community to work in helps them create structures and discipline that motivates them. Too much autonomy can actually cripple productivity because people lack routines.
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They can even decide to work from home, without repercussion, if they need to meet a repairperson or deal with a family member need.Īnd while coworkers value this autonomy, we also learned that they equally value some form of structure in their professional lives. They can choose whether they want to work in a quiet space so they can focus, or in a more collaborative space with shared tables where interaction is encouraged. People can decide whether to put in a long day when they have a deadline or want to show progress, or can decide to take a long break in the middle of the day to go to the gym. Coworking spaces are normally accessible 24/7. So in many cases, it’s not simply the case that a person is going to work they’re also part of a social movement. These values get reinforced at the annual Global Coworking UnConference. It clearly articulates the values that the coworking movement aspires to, including community, collaboration, learning, and sustainability. Lastly, meaning may also be derived from a more concrete source: The social mission inherent in the Coworking Manifesto, an online document signed by members of more than 1,700 working spaces. Second, meaning may also come from working in a culture where it is the norm to help each other out, and there are many opportunities to do so the variety of workers in the space means that coworkers have unique skill sets that they can provide to other community members. Our respondents were given the opportunity to frequently describe what they do, which can make what they do seem more interesting and distinctive. Working amidst people doing different kinds of work can also make one’s own work identity stronger. Because there is little direct competition or internal politics, they don’t feel they have to put on a work persona to fit in. They’re able to do this in a few ways.įirst, unlike a traditional office, coworking spaces consist of members who work for a range of different companies, ventures, and projects. Aside from the type of work they’re doing – freelancers choosing projects they care about, for example - the people we surveyed reported finding meaning in the fact that they could bring their whole selves to work.
People who use coworking spaces see their work as meaningful. A regression analysis following our survey revealed three substantial predictors of thriving: To find out, we interviewed several coworking space founders and community managers, and surveyed several hundred workers from dozens of coworking spaces around the U.S.
So we were curious: What makes coworking spaces – defined as membership-based workspaces where diverse groups of freelancers, remote workers, and other independent professionals work together in a shared, communal setting – so effective? And are there lessons for more traditional offices? This is at least a point higher than the average for employees who do their jobs in regular offices, and something so unheard of that we had to look at the data again. As researchers who have, for years, studied how employees thrive, we were surprised to discover that people who belong to them report levels of thriving that approach an average of 6 on a 7-point scale. There seems to be something special about coworking spaces.
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