Co-working spaces are quickly gaining popularity among organizations and are doubling their inventory from the past few years in the major markets in India.
Seeing co-working spaces climbing charts industry experts and asset owners are making researches about whether this segment holds a future or not.
Flexible workspaces or business centres in India are blowing up. The lease by Flexi operators has managed to generate some impressive numbers where it has crossed 7 million square feet during 2018 which accounts for 14% of total leasing during the year.
Multiple factors have contributed to make Coworking Spaces a major blockbuster in India. The country is the third-largest startup adobe after China and the US which is the primary reason behind the bend we witness in why startup companies prefer co-working spaces for their employees.
It is also stimulating to know that organizations majorly appreciate shared workspaces because of their flexibility along with the ease to set up the office without getting poked by the administration.
According to the recent data, Bengaluru has the highest leasing by Flexi operators which is followed by Mumbai and Delhi-NCR. Earlier co-working spaces were only trusted by startups but now the tables have turned as large enterprises apart from setting traditional offices also take a seat in the co-working centres.
Before digging into the reasons why co-working spaces are amazing options lets take look from where it all started.
A few years from now it was purely acceptable if an organisation had an offline presence but not an online presence whereas now the story has completely changed. The concept of coworking spaces arose from its necessity as when the question comes to starting up then entrepreneurs don’t leave any stone unturned.
For most bootstrap startups it was irrelevant to invest in real estate for office space but at the same time, they also realised that an office gives a much-needed schedule and gives a chance to have an actual physical interaction with your fellow members and clients.
Globally existence of co-working spaces came into frame since 1995 but in India, the term ‘coworking space’ started to become normal since 2016. And now in 2019, it has become a trend.
In 2017, a lot of organisations in Bengaluru adopted the concept of shared workspaces. What we witness today is that apart from bigger cities even tier-2 cities like Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Indore, and Jaipur too are following the trend.
Reasons why co-workings are the future:
- You feel the zeal to produce positive results when you are continuously interacting with your teammates which becomes a bit of a challenge when you have a traditional office space.
- Work from home makes your mind seesaw between office work and the household tasks whereas on the other hand co-working spaces keep your work regulated in a more structured way.
- Some like to work lonely as it helps them concentrate whereas its a fact that working lonely at some point can have negative impacts. In a shared workspace there are people with different knowledge bases and diverse personality which helps you gather information even without you realizing. Moreover, 78% of people gave a positive response to co-working spaces.
- Co-working spaces help you connect with people outside your organization which benefits you by enhancing your network and also improves your work to an extent.
- Offices don’t need to bother themselves for the cleanliness, maintenance or any other additional and annoying responsibilities as these are all taken care by the co-working space itself.
- It provides you with endless networking opportunities as you share a space every day with dozens of potential people which enables you to expand your professional circle.
Apart from knowing the reasons why co-working spaces are a great environment for any organization, it is also important to understand as to what is the reason that it is rapidly gaining popularity.
- Economical: A co-working space proves to be extremely cost-efficient for any enterprise – big or small. In a shared workspace there are cheaper and flexible plans. They also provide scalability as the team of your organization expands. Hence it is a great option for freelancers, new start-ups, SMEs and MNC that appreciate the advantages of a co-working space.
- Loaded with Resources: The co-working spaces have a huge amount of amenities to offer their members. Apart from having basic workplace facilities, you get community connections, engagement activities, best in class infrastructure, 24*7 security, latest technology and many more.
- Culture: The culture of the coworking spaces is not defined by the brands that share the place but by the individuals that work there. People come there from different mindsets, work culture, ideals, and they come from big or small companies which in the end influences their work ethics. Their presence adds to the productivity of the place. At a coworking space, diversity is celebrated.
- Accessibility and Flexibility: It offers a great amount of accessibility and flexibility in specific to people who are ‘solopreneurs’, or are freelancers or have small businesses. Today’s scenario is that coworking spaces exist in almost all big cities which further have multiple hubs. Some spaces are either free of cost or even if they are paid then they are comparatively cheap. Due to their worldwide existence, they become an amazing option for people who travel a lot.
- Millennials: They are also one of the major reasons behind the growing popularity of co-working spaces. It was told in one of the reports by Forbes that millennials are fond of co-working spaces as these are extremely pocket-friendly. Instead, imagine if you have to rent an entire office space for an entire month.
Slowly the fashion in workspaces is changing as in the Indian ecosystem the influence of co-working spaces can be easily felt. It is being anticipated that by next year by 2020 more than 50% of global workforces will be preferring the usage of a shared workspace.
The open and flexible work environment is being seriously considered by organizations. All these things convey that co-working spaces have a bright future in the segment of unconventional workspaces.
Coworking spaces allow people to feel being a part of the community and create an environment that offers the opportunity of serendipitous experiences.
Employees can have interactions which allow them to learn, share ideas and gives chances to collaborate on different projects.
Some of the Best Coworking Spaces in India are:
- Smartworks
- The Playce
- The Hive
- 91 Springboard
- Regus
- Bombay Connect
With a final note, it can be said that as coworking space has established itself as a viable business model and its time for us for the next phase – profitability.
The future of the coworking spaces is more of a melting point as it allows early startups to share space with corporate innovation teams which are like startups within big companies.
Such opportunities of collaborations with other innovators help in solving complex problems and allow for a high level of creativity.
Such environments benefit anyone who is accessing a network of like-minded people. The world is mutating in the reallocation of skill, technology and work which will in parallel initiate a change in the coworking space culture. But there’s less to worry as the participants of the coworking community is an entrepreneurial bunch.
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