One article described the UK coworking scene as the “new normal” in office workspace. In fact, the numbers seem to agree with this assessment of London’s coworking scene. Last year, the average desk occupancy rose from 102 members to just over 120 per space.
London’s professional community is increasingly seeing the value of shared office space that can reduce overhead significantly. Typically, these workspaces that also form professional communities might evolve into a throwback of professional guild system that created a marketplace for good and services. More than providing amenities that would support an office, the coworking space has come to mean more than hot desking or collaborating, as they are giving smaller businesses a real platform for business.
Continue reading to learn about how coworking is becoming a unifying platform for business in the UK.
What Trends Say
The trends say that coworking Britons are more committed to the idea of shared space that provides your business with a platform for success just in terms of the leases. One of the benefits of the coworking lease is that it is much shorter than typical ones, especially if offered through the serviced office. However, Coworking UK leasing trends show that professionals and businesses are willing to commit to lengthier terms because the office space is so comfortable.
Another important trend in coworking spaces around the country is that almost a third of the spaces that open are curated services or niche spaces. This ultimately translates into professional communities taking the reins of their working platform and creating bespoke solutions that can support their own business goals and mission. While many of these spaces are not that old, the trends say that UK’s workforce, especially its freelance population are latching onto this concept.
A Stage Set For Unification
These figures should not really be a surprise because the coworking space is set up to provide the glue that creates communities. On a smaller scale, the hot desk is one of the first places where individuals begin creating connections to the coworking community and then the greater business community. Then, there are all of the community events that make it easier for professionals to coalesce in the space.
Even online, there is a community of coworking professionals who have made their presence known. Coworking pop-ups and other notable community events are posted on bulletin board websites in the UK to alert professionals of the networking opportunities and events that are occurring around the country. The coworking communities have created an atmosphere that supports efforts within the industry as a whole.
The trends in the above paragraph illustrate that coworking’s platform that focuses on providing businesses of all sizes a place from which to work is important. However, it points to the coworking space as a place of support as well. In the long run, these are a few reasons that the workforce is becoming more unified.
Other Interpretations Of The Coworking Platform
One major result of the coworking space is the increasing number of contractors and freelancers willing to go it alone. With office space that has been drastically reduced, it is much easier to fathom going out on a limb and opening a business. With the major costs associated with managing overhead taken care of, businesses benefit from the perks associated with belonging to a coworking space. Ultimately, at some point, coworking spaces might form a network across the country unifying an independent workforce.
A United Workforce Of Support
It seems unfathomable that almost a decade ago a quirky idea to create space that supported collaboration over competition would grow into a worldwide phenomenon. In the UK, this workspace solution has done more than provide businesses with office space. Coworking’s indelible impact on the UK workforce is that through community support it has given power and autonomy to independent contractors and freelancers while unifying the workforce.
