Coworking

Coworking is a way for people who work for different companies to share the same office space. This helps save money and makes things more convenient because everyone can use common things like computers, electricity, and a receptionist. It’s especially helpful for people who work for themselves, scientists who do research from different places, workers who live far away from offices, and people who travel a lot.

Coworking also helps people feel less lonely when they work from far away or travel. It keeps them away from distractions they might find at home. Most coworking places charge a membership fee to join. Some big companies that offer coworking spaces and serviced offices include WeWork, IWG plc, Industrious, and Impact Hub.

Types

Coworking is more than just a place to work; it helps build a community of people. Cities use coworking to help bring life back to busy areas. You can enjoy many benefits even before you visit a coworking space, so it's best to start by making friends and connections first.

Coworking spaces can focus on either renting desks and offices or building a strong community. They are popular with independent workers, people who work from home, and small businesses that want a place to work and meet others. These spaces often offer extra help like printing or advice.

Coworking is different from business accelerators, business incubators, and executive suites because it focuses on working together and sharing ideas, not just making money. Some coworking groups also host informal meetings like BarCamp.

Some coworking spaces have special themes. For example, CoWorking With Wisdom in Berkeley, California combines working with meditation, mindfulness, and yoga programs. The Wing was created to support women, and Work and Play in South Orange, New Jersey offers childcare for parents who start their own businesses. There are also spaces like Epiphany Space in Los Angeles for artists and SketchPad in Chicago for Jewish not-for-profit groups.

History

Between 2006 and 2015, studies showed that the number of places where people could work together and the number of seats available grew a lot each year. Before coworking, there were places in Europe in the 1990s where computer experts would meet to share ideas and learn from each other.

Some of these workspaces were started by people who worked from far away and business owners who wanted a different place to work instead of cafes or working alone at home. Another reason more people wanted coworking was because there were more people who worked for themselves, traveled a lot, or had jobs that let them work from home.

In Asia Pacific

Coworking has become very popular in Asia because space is limited in places like China, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Big cities in these places are always making new ideas for workspaces to help new businesses grow. Research showed that flexible work spaces in Asia grew by 150% between 2014 and 2017.

In places like Australia and New Zealand, coworking is popular because regular office spaces cost a lot. Coworking can save money, being up to 25% cheaper for people who work for themselves.

In Hong Kong, many workspaces have been made to help new businesses. Forbes says Hong Kong is a big technology place, like New York City and Silicon Valley. These spaces are found in many parts of the city, especially on Hong Kong Island.

In Malaysia, the state of Penang is known as a place for technology. The government there has been turning old buildings in the city of George Town into places where people can work together.

Coworking is also popular with people who travel a lot in Asia. A study from 2011 found that most people who work in these spaces are between late twenties and late thirties, with an average age of 34. Two-thirds are men, and one-third are women. Most of them started their careers after finishing school. They usually work in creative jobs or new kinds of media. Slightly more than half of them work for themselves.

Coworking is very popular in India. A report from 2017 said there were 350 companies that rent out shared office spaces in India, spread out over more than 800 places. The amount of space these companies rented more than tripled between 2016 and 2017.

In Australia, companies like WeWork and Spaces are competing with smaller, local companies. Hub Australia is the biggest company that owns its own workspaces in Australia. Many smaller companies have opened special workspaces, including in areas away from big cities. Some bigger companies have expanded to cover the whole country, helped by the distance between cities.

In India, coworking spaces are very popular in big cities and also in smaller cities. Between 2017 and 2018, the amount of space used by these companies more than doubled. India has many new businesses, with over 5,200 of them. Big cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Delhi, Noida, Ahmedabad, and Chennai all have many coworking spaces, and more are opening all the time because of the growing number of new businesses.

In Europe

In 2017, Europe was third in the number of coworking spaces, after the United States and Asia.

France opened its first coworking space in 2008, called La Cantine, in Paris.

The U.K., especially London, has many places where people can work together. In the Shoreditch area of London, there are many of these spaces, which help new businesses, business owners, and people who work for themselves. Camden Collective is a project in London that uses old buildings to make new workspaces. It opened its first space in 2009.

In June 2013, the government of the United Kingdom announced a plan to use coworking ideas in a new project for public buildings. This would help different groups work together and also free up space that is not needed.

Estonia In early 2022, a new coworking space called Pärnu Start-Up Center opened in Pärnu. It aims to connect people who work from home or cafes with others, giving them a nice place to work and meet clients. The goal is to help local businesses grow and make new contacts.

Coworking is also common in other parts of Europe, like Stockholm and Brussels.

Smaller cities with many young, creative people, especially places where students study, often have coworking spaces. These spaces often work together with schools and universities.

In North America

Since someone started the coworking idea in 2005, San Francisco has many of these workspaces. In the Bay Area, a person named Anca Mosoiu started Tech Liminal in 2009 in Oakland.

Coworking is very popular in Miami. A study in 2018 said Miami has more coworking spaces per area than any other city in the U.S. By 2023, Florida was growing very fast in coworking.

In the United States, coworking has spread to many big cities, such as Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and Wichita, Kansas. Recently, more places outside big cities and even in small towns have started offering coworking, like Amarillo, Texas, Des Moines, Iowa, Independence, Oregon, and Indianapolis, Indiana.

The coworking community in New York has grown quickly, with places like Regus and Rockefeller Group Business Center. WeWork and others are very common. In Brooklyn, there are many people now working from home, especially in the Gowanus area. This area, which used to be for factories, is now full of new businesses turning old buildings into workspaces. In 2008, the first green coworking space in the U.S., called Green Spaces, was started in Brooklyn by Jennie Nevin. It grew in 2009 to Manhattan and Denver and has helped businesses that care about the environment.

In Canada, coworking has become popular in big cities like Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Montreal, Quebec.

In Africa

In 2011, a place called Co-Creation Hub was started in Yaba, Lagos by Bosun Tijani and Femi Longe. It is often called Cc-Hub and it helps over 50 new businesses.

Another place called IHub was started in 2010 by Erik Hersman in Nairobi, Kenya. It was one of the first places in Africa for people to work together. In 2019, Cc-Hub bought IHub.

Ventures Park was started in 2016 in Abuja by Kola Aina. It is a creative place for people who work for themselves, business owners, professionals, and new businesses. They also started a workspace on the campus of the University of Abuja called Ventures Platform.

In 2023, a new workspace called WomHub opened in Cape Town. It was started by women and is designed to help women who start businesses in South Africa.

Occupancy demographic in coworking spaces

Age of occupants

Most people who use coworking spaces are about 36 years old. People who work for themselves or run businesses with staff tend to be a bit older, around 38 to 40 years. Younger workers under 30 make up almost half of all coworkers, with an average age of 33. In big cities, the average age is a little lower at about 35, while in smaller towns, it’s a bit higher at around 39.

Gender of occupants

About 40% of coworkers are women, and this number is growing. In coworking spaces, women make up most of the employees and a good share of freelancers. The number of women coworkers can drop after they get married and have children, partly because of longer travel times to get to these spaces.

Area of work in occupants

Smaller coworking spaces are often used by freelancers, but as spaces get bigger, more companies and private individuals use them. Even so, freelancers still make up around 41% of all coworkers. The most common jobs among coworkers are in IT, public relations, and sales. Most coworkers have finished school, with about 85% having some higher education. Older coworkers are slightly less likely to have gone to university. Freelancers are more likely to have a university degree, while business owners often have even more advanced education.