Car, house, clothing, vegetable garden… these days, everything can be shared. This sharing culture, which has become a reality and will continue to grow in the years to come, now has its own trade shows and enthusiasts who create sites for sharing and the collaborative economy all over the world. Your workspace is no exception. Short overview from the closed office to cosharing and coworking.
The search for flexibility
Fifteen years ago, closed offices began to give way to open spaces. This is how our salesman Réjean could communicate directly with his director Simon, over the cubicle walls. Communication was facilitated, the weight of the hierarchy was felt less, energy seemed healthier. In recent years, we have seen the development of public office spaces – coworking was born, recently competed with by cosharing. What are the similarities between the two terms? Both offer highly flexible workspaces to their clients: the possibility of lengthening or shortening the time, as well as the number of offices. The financial benefit is undeniable: no capital investment, no long-term commitment, no high leasing costs. On the administrative level, no more hassles for purchasing office furniture, internet access or a printer or photocopier – you pay for the package that suits you and you’re done. Finally, these workspaces also promote discussion and interaction between members… which is always good for business.
To each entrepreneurial situation its own solution
While coworking is more suited to young businesses, self-employed entrepreneurs who do not want to work from home or small business owners who are always on the road, cosharing tends to address itself to more established businesses. Various situations arise: the company that wants to develop its business in a city and needs a physical presence to network, build a clientele, start earning some income before deciding to commit firmly with a commercial lease (for example, Uber in Florida); the employer who offers its employees a bit of independence by giving them the opportunity to work in shared offices for the duration of a specific project, allowing them to be more creative or to encourage networking; the small business which, in a growth phase, is seeking a bit of professionalism and wants to avoid receiving prospects or future partners between a basketball hoop and a pool table… Indeed, this relaxed atmosphere is more related to coworking – based on openness, collaboration and sustainable development in order to build a community where each shares and learns from the other – unlike cosharing where more traditional office spaces offer calmness and serenity to their members.
Professional office space offerings quickly adapt to the ever more innovative and demanding needs of today’s employers and self-employed entrepreneurs, if the latest is to be believed, the eworky. No, you are not dreaming – reserving an office or meeting room in less than a minute, from your cell phone, at the place you want for the time desired is now possible.