26 Aug 2022 | 3 min read
The societal shift after Covid-19 and people’s change of habits made the 9-18 office-based model less and less common, with more people working in far more flexible ways.
This doesn’t mean that we have to give up the social and collaborative aspects of working in an office. Coworking spaces are becoming increasingly popular as a way to bring these benefits into our lives, without having to stick with the regular full-time office job.
This is a new trend that emerged in recent years, revolutionizing the way of thinking about work as a static, sedentary thing. It gives everyone who wants to broaden their horizons and see different contexts the chance to do their job as if they were in an office… except for the fact that in these offices you find different people all the time, from all over the world!
While the primary driver of the rise in the use of coworking space is undoubtedly the Covid-19 pandemic, there are other factors at play.
A study by Deskmag found that the number one reason people use coworking spaces is to meet other like-minded people and work in a social environment. This was closely followed by the need for a more flexible working environment, the desire to escape distractions at home, and the willingness to see different ambients.
The office is the pivot in the life of all workers (full remote excepted). Having a ‘headquarters’ where everything is created and developed is part of the process, but the watertight concept of the office has now vanished.
Coworking spaces offer a happy medium – they provide the flexibility of homeworking with the social interaction of an office environment. And for freelancers or remote workers, they can provide a much-needed sense of community. Not to forget that they also offer the possibility of an international experience. An innovative and well-stocked base with the advantage of being located (almost) anywhere in the world!
Currently, the coworking space market in 2022 is worth $16.17 billion, but this is expected to rapidly spike as the prediction shows the number of coworking spaces increasing from 40,000 by 2024, compared to just 18,000 in 2019. By 2026, the coworking space industry is expected to reach a value of $30.36 billion.
The flexible workspace market will represent 30% of office stock in the U.S alone, catering to more than 5.1 million workers.
There are a few key reasons for the coworking space phenomena:
The coworking market is growing exponentially, with new players entering the market all the time. Some of the key players in the coworking space market include:
Coworking spaces are re-imagining work by providing an alternative to the traditional full-time office. Coworking spaces offer a more flexible and collaborative environment that can be tailored to fit everyone’s needs, making the working environment positive and productive, wherever an employee is.
Coworking spaces are here to stay, and they’re only going to become more popular as the workplace paradigm continues to evolve.
At 2hire innovation is at the root of everything we do.
We don’t just go for a no if something is out of our comfort zone. We have opened 2hire doors and have a multi-located team that can work and is productive everywhere.
Luiss Enlabs, the accelerator we joined during our early stages, has also been the first coworking experience for us in this sense.
Since our acceleration program there, the relationship with the organization has always been pretty active. Many times we have found ourselves with part of the team dislocated, in Milan for example there is an EnLabs office that 2hire guys use as a workspace when they are in the city and need to keep operational, the ideal space to reconcile concentration and comfort.
Shout out to Luiss EnLabs for providing us with a coworking space when we are around Milan, allowing us to keep on working when we need a solid base!
Sales and Marketing Associate at 2hire
I love running and daydreaming losing count of the distance I’m covering, cooking (and especially eating) and Drake is my spirit guide.