Coworking spaces and a paradigm shift

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Coworking spaces and a paradigm shift

In 1980, Toffler predicted

“Put the computer in people’s homes, and they no longer need to huddle. [. . .] White collar work will not require 100 per cent of the workforce to be concentrated in the workshop”.

This prediction was widely quoted in telecommuting research and started a new trend towards virtualization processes in organizations. According to a survey carried out in year 2014, 1.3 billion people worked from the space and time of their own choice. Advancement in digital technology has enabled professionals to work literally ‘anytime-anywhere’.

Coworking-spaces, which originated in 2005 in San Francisco have developed rapidly in the last decade. Currently there are 13,700 coworking spaces operating worldwide and around 1.5 million people are working in those spaces. Some coworking spaces are government funded aim to enhance startups and entrepreneurial activities while many others are private funded owned by private owners or big corporations hosting mostly freelancers, independent professionals, consultants, entrepreneurs, small and micro enterprises, employees, students, etc. There are countless benefits associated with these spaces e.g. new startups, business ventures, employment opportunities, innovations, etc. On one hand, these spaces are bringing entrepreneurial revolution while on the other hand these spaces are also encouraging more and more professionals to work independently as a freelancer.

For example, according to a survey of 2014 conducted by Elance, out of 10 university graduates with first or second class degrees, nine see freelancing as a lucrative career choice whereas, every fifth graduate with first or second class degree have already decided to work as a freelancer. The result of the study also shows that 29 per cent of all graduates intend to make freelancing as part time career while 85 percent think that it would become norm in next five years. The reasons behind starting career as freelancer is the independence and flexibility it offers as compared to the traditional job structure.

This means that coworking spaces would grow exponentially in the upcoming years as these spaces offer a cooperative working environment equipped with office utilities and accessories, in which professionals have the autonomy to work either as independent professional, or shared knowledge of other diverse professionals along with the shared working values of 'collaboration, openness, community, accessibility and sustainability'. Coworking spaces are not limited to the provision of office spaces and amenities to participating professionals. In fact, these spaces represent an elusive concept for working alone-together of participants, which is one of the major reasons that coworking- spaces are expanding globally. However, this rise would also influence the work practices in the existing organizations.

In this situation, organizations can either recruit freelancers and developed their policies accordingly or they can restructuring their organizations by providing more autonomy and flexibility to their workforce. In that case, organization need to reduced hierarchical structure by incorporating fewer layers and decentralized decision making. In order to attract and retain skilled workforce, organizations need to break down the existing organizational boundaries and shall focus on the collaboration and team working while provisioning more flexible work structures. The traditional roles in the organizations need to be abolished and a manager shall act more like a coach and mentor rather than a boss or commander.