GROWING LANDSCAPE OF THE COWORKING INDUSTRY

One might be surprised to hear that the origin of coworking or shared workspaces dates back to as early as the 1970s although professionals across the world have become familiar with the term "coworking" as a new and innovative way of working only in the last decade or so. The coworking industry has grown tremendously over the last decade, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Coworking spaces have become a popular alternative to traditional offices, providing large enterprises, SMEs, startups, and even freelancers and remote workers with flexible workspaces that meet their needs.

According to the Global Coworking Space Market Report, the global Coworking Space market size was valued at USD 14394.53 million in 2022 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 17.24% during the forecast period, reaching USD 37374.84 million by 2028.

The growth of the coworking industry can be attributed to several factors, including the pandemic. Let's delve a bit deeper into some of these.

Technological Advancements -

Telecommuting showed that it had prospects of becoming a viable alternative to working in an office by the mid-2000s. What it entails really is that due to the ground-breaking technological advancements of the time, it was becoming much easier for employees to work away from a traditional office space, often leading to benefits like increased work satisfaction, greater lifestyle flexibility, and more autonomy. Because of the widespread availability of laptop computers, broadband Internet and Wi-Fi, remote file access, the increased importance and efficiency of email, and the rapid increase in the usage of cell phones and smartphones, workers could be as productive at work, at a cafe, or even while commuting.?

A survey conducted by Times of India revealed that a whopping 82% of employees prefer working from home and 44% of respondents of the YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial Survey believe that work from home has improved mental health. The future trends suggest that there will be a steady increase in remote jobs till about 2025 and India will produce one of the largest numbers of remote workers.?

A massive shift in the demographics -

The changing scene of the workforce due to baby boomers retiring right when millennials started working had ensured that the millennials' way of life changed the whole outlook on work. Boomers really value “old-school” and rigid traditional education, a traditional workplace hierarchy, and some values which might be out of touch when it comes to today’s generation. Millennials, on the other hand, are into flexibility, agility, and a lot of freedom in the workplace. So it is understandable that when an entire generation of workers is being replaced by a new set of workers from a subsequent generation, the outlook on work supporting the views of the majority of the workforce would prevail, and in this case, the millennial workforce that is into flexibility and agility thrives in a flexible workplace setting.

COVID-19 -

While COVID-19 halted the growth of various players in the coworking industry for a brief moment, it ultimately highlighted the importance of the remote work scenario and how coworking could complement the scenario. With the recent preference for the hybrid work model, better amenities like faster internet access, and safer environments with COVID-19 precautionary protocols, people have started preferring working from a flexible workspace rather than working from home or even from a traditional office space which is so far away from employees’ places.

This has led to a totally new thought process on how not only employees but employers perceive workspaces and typical team dynamics. While certain businesses and industries like manufacturing need the entire team at the central workspace there are others who are enjoying the freedom and flexibility and yes, increased productivity due to employees being able to work closer home, saving commute time and organisation reducing their real estate footprint drastically.

Future of coworking spaces in India:

We may safely assert that demand for coworking space services is continually rising. Many experts and organizations believe that demand will continue to increase in the future. The future of this industry is overflowing with great opportunities, particularly for developing countries like India.?

As the way businesses and functions have evolved, companies will seek flexibility as a crucial factor in the future. People will be able to create a variety of work environments (such as vanilla coworking spaces in which an employee gets a space dedicated to them for a certain period, customizable working environments which give the employees the necessary tools and spaces to direct their own working conditions, managed office spaces which are dedicated to a group of workers of an organization, which is managed by an operator, among others) as a result of the co-working spaces, allowing them to maintain a good work-life balance. Employees desiring hybrid work models, on the other hand, have grown in number, and continued attempts will be made to fulfill this growing need. A hybrid work model is an ecosystem of employees working from home, in coworking spaces, and also in traditional office spaces depending on the need of the hour and the work to be done. Due to this, these flexible workspaces will be the norm in the near future, and they will be critical for adapting to operational changes and achieving better results.

Our upcoming article will delve into the various models of workspaces found within the coworking industry.