Coworking spaces aren’t just a great place to work for freelancers and small businesses – large listed companies are also taking advantage of the numerous benefits provided by these spaces. While IBM and HP are known for being pioneers in professional telecommuting, major firms like Google, Amazon and Twitter are increasingly allowing and even encouraging employees to make use of Coworking spaces instead of coming into the office each day.
What do these tech giants see as the benefits of sending staff to suitable ‘third spaces’?
Workers Report Increased Creativity In Coworking Spaces
Deskmag’s annual Coworking survey provided plenty of insight into the impact that Coworking spaces can have on an employee, and it’s mostly great news. In total, 62% of participants reported that their quality of work had increased since joining a Coworking space and 71% reported that they felt more creative at work since they started Coworking.
Improved Productivity for Coworking Employees
Some workplaces judge employees based on their attendance while others judge based on results. The latter mindset requires employers to re-think the importance of flexible work and how it can create an environment that fosters creativity and productivity and ultimately helps make work happen. Facebook’s camera app was reportedly built by a team of employers in one engineer’s garage. In this paradigm of work, employers have faith that a flexible and mobile work force gets better results than one that is confined to a particular office for specified hours each week. As a result, employees are free to utilise whatever work schedule and environment they prefer, and resultantly they get more done!
Convenience for Mobile Employees
In addition to telecommuting, Google is making Coworking space available to employees who travel frequently. These employees can access Coworking spaces to hold meetings or just to drop in to quickly get some work done. Many such spaces offer amenities like printing, meeting rooms and food services that mobile employees might otherwise have difficulty accessing. Coworking spaces provide a great support system for mobile employees.
In February 2013, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer issued a memo eliminating flexible working privileges for all Yahoo! Employees. We couldn’t disagree more strongly with her view that being a unified company starts with physically being together. With strong communication between managers and clear expectations of employees, it’s clear that a mobile work force is capable of being productive. Coworking spaces offer employees great flexibility with work hours and commuting and boost productivity as well. It just makes sense that over half of all Fortune 500 companies are offering their employees access to Coworking space in order to hold meetings or get work done while on the road.
Businesses of all sizes are realising the benefits of Coworking to employees and to their companies. Coworking IS the way of work in the future.
Article by HotDesk
