We are witnessing a renaissance in work culture.
With the rapid growth in technology, the individual and the employee have become more able to create income without the need for a traditional work structure. Through the use of social platforms, web-tools, video/audio technology, and secure network connections, companies have greater abilities to offer remote working options to their employees and are seeing large savings as a result. Since 2016, 75% of companies worldwide have allowed some form of remote option to staff, resulting in over 55 million individuals working in some remote capacity. This has led to an average real estate savings of $10,000 per employee each year.
Similarly, due to this growth in technology, more and more individuals are either leaving their traditional jobs to pursue freelance or entrepreneurship opportunities. As individuals seek self-employment, they still have a need for support in various way as they operate their businesses. Notably, 41% of the remote community claims they have a need for basic office infrastructure.
This increase in remote work options for the individual and the employee alike has coincided with the push towards more time flexibility, a greater work/life balance, a cultural push towards entrepreneurship, and a drive towards community and social connection. Individuals want and are looking for flexibility, autonomy and a balance between their work and their lives.
Although many people are moving away from being tethered to their office, they do often want more than to simply work from their home or from a cafe. 58% of the existing US coworking customer base states they are looking for a socially enjoyable atmosphere, that a cafe or their couch does not provide. As a result, the work space market has seen an incredible shift towards the desire for a more engaging, flexible, entrepreneurial, and varied work environment. Increasingly the new remote workforce seeks more from their physical work environment than simply a desk from which to operate. Over 55% of the existing US coworking market’s customer-base claims they seek a community, of like-minded people, with whom they can interact, connect, and grow with both professionally and personally, respectively.
Moreover, the rise in social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Snapchat), social amenities (AirBNB & Uber), and social collaboration tools (Slack, Google Chat, and Zoom) has rewired how the Gen Y and Millennials operate. Having the constant ability to connect with a community, share ideas and experiences, network, and collaborate has been wired into their brains since childhood. The need for their working space to allow for a similar style of community has justifiably followed suit.
The above renaissance has been met by a change in the Office-as-a-Service business, known as the Coworking Space. A space filled with individuals who do not necessarily work together but want to be a part of a community to connect, collaborate, share, and grow with like-minded individuals both professionally and personally.
This renaissance has facilitated a rapid growth of the coworking market. In 2005, there was 1 coworking space in the US. By 2013, there were approximately 781. In 2016 that number grew to over 6,000 and currently it is estimated to be nearly 7,000 spaces.
But is 7,000 a saturated market? Hardly. In 2010, an estimated 25% of individuals in the USA worked remotely. By 2016 that number jumped to 37%. These individuals accounted for $1 trillion in income in 2016. That number does not appear to slow. It is estimated that in the US alone, 40% of the entire workforce will be freelancers, contractors, and temp workers by 2018 (that is an estimated 60 million people). Moreover, it is estimated that the potential US market size for coworking specifically, will be over 22 million by 2020.
Additionally, even though the number of spaces has nearly doubled in the past year, the number of spaces reporting profits is up 3% from the prior year, with only 1 in 4 spaces reporting losses – and some of those reporting losses are still in early stages of operation.
There is a renaissance occurring in the structure and makeup of the traditional workforce, workday, workspace, and work/life balance. The coworking space is a direct beneficiary to – and is a catalyst of – this renaissance. Capitalizing on it now will allow for rapid growth that coincides with this wave of change.
~ Blah Blah Coworking
Sources:
CoWorking in the USA 2017. Deskmag. May 5, 2016. E-SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/carstenfoertsch/coworking-in-the-usa-2016
“Coworking Forecast – 26,000 Spaces and 3.8 Million Members by 2020.” http://www.smallbizlabs.com. August 2, 2016. http://www.smallbizlabs.com/2016/08/coworking-forecast-44-million-members-in-2020.html
First Results of the 2017 Global Coworking Survey. Deskmag. 2017. E-SlideShare. https://www.dropbox.com/s/8kfdsrtel6hpabd/First%20Results%20Of%20The%202017%20Global%20Coworking%20Survey.pdf?dl=0
Foertsch, Carsten. “The Birth of Coworking Spaces.” http://www.deskmag.com. November 18, 2011. http://www.deskmag.com/en/the-birth-of-coworking-spaces-global-survey-176
Foley, James. “Flexible working – a trend which is Set to Grow in 2017.” http://www.itproportal.com. January 17, 2017. http://www.itproportal.com/features/flexible-working-a-trend-which-is-set-to-grow-in-2017/
GCUC 2017 Global CoWorking Survey. Deskmag & Global Coworking Unconference Conference. 2017. PDF.
Leighton, Patricia & Brown, Duncan. Future Working: The Rise of Europe’s Independent Professionals (iPros). European Forum of Independent Professionals. 2013. PDF e-book. http://ucc.um.es/uploaded/files/Future_Working_Full_Report-2%20final%20subir%20web.pdf
- “The rise of iPro working marks a distinctive shift to a more collaborative way of working. iPros value autonomy and freedom, yet to be effective they need the appropriate support. As their specific needs are not recognized, iPros have developed their own supportive environments in the form of co-working spaces and professional hubs. “
“New Study Finds Freelance Economy Grew to 55 Million Americans This Year, 35% of Total U.S. Workforce.” http://www.marketwired.com. October 6, 2016. http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/new-study-finds-freelance-economy-grew-55-million-americans-this-year-35-total-us-workforce-2164446.htm
“Number of Coworking Spaces Worldwide from 2005 to 2017.” http://www.statista.com. 2017. https://www.statista.com/statistics/554273/number-of-coworking-spaces-worldwide/
“Number of Coworking Spaces Worldwide in 2013, by Region.” http://www.statista.com. 2017. https://www.statista.com/statistics/554352/number-of-coworking-spaces-worldwide-by-region/
Vaccaro, Adam. “Number of Coworking Spaces Has Skyrocketed in the U.S.” http://www.inc.com. March 3, 2014. https://www.inc.com/adam-vaccaro/coworking-space-growth.html
WeWork Pitch Deck. Wework. November 16, 2015. E-SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/AlexanderJarvis/wework-pitch-deck-55170129
Blah Blah Coworking 