Worldview – What does coworking look like outside Ireland?
Coworking involves the sharing of office space, resources and ideas. It is a phenomenon which has rapidly grown and taken shape in recent years.
In Ireland, there are coworking spaces for all types of workers and businesses including start-ups, remote employees and freelancers.
Glandore offers a number of different coworking options in Dublin, Cork and Belfast. Members can choose from a variety of office types catering to their individual needs. Glandore offers hot desks, dedicated desks and private office facilities; members can also avail of countless services including high speed wifi, IT services and car parking.
It is not just Ireland that has experienced an increase in coworking. Our neighbours in Europe, and further afield in America and Asia, have also seen growth in this area.
So what does coworking look like outside of Ireland, and who is leading the way in the coworking experience?
Europe
Europe has always been a prime destination for digital nomads. It is now full of coworking spaces with over 2,500 throughout the continent. These spaces gather communities of successful business people together and provide a space to allow their businesses to flourish.
An obvious European destination for coworkers is London. Here, you will find over 150 spaces to choose from in key locations around the city. London seems to stick to the traditional coworking spaces offering different types of desk and office space options. The spaces vary, you can choose between traditional office rooms or vibrant and dynamic spaces where beanbags replace office chairs.
While London is regularly on the list of top coworking locations in Europe so are lesser known cities including Mokrin in Serbia, Split in Croatia and Ljubljana in Slovenia. Each has spaces which offer their members something different; a five-minute walk to the beach, three homemade meals a day, or even a fully stocked bar.
America
The coworking industry is booming in the United States. In 2016, there were over 11,000 spaces around the US, by 2020 this figure is predicted to grow to over 26,000 spaces with 3.8 million coworking members.
Coworking spaces are available throughout the country with additional perks varying from state to state. New York and Los Angeles are coworking hotspots and offer dynamic spaces in two of the biggest cities in the world.
‘WeWork’ are one of the biggest coworking businesses operating across the US and in multiple cities around the world. They offer their members stylish office space with art-infused buildings and in their US locations, pet friendly work spaces so you can work alongside your furry best friend.
Away from the bigger cities, smaller cities around the US are also developing innovative coworking spaces. Whether it’s traditional versus quirky interiors, or office space versus a single desk, workers can have their pick of the right environment for them.
Businesses are regularly coming up with new ways to generate and use space that will entice workers. A recent trend is to offer off-hours restaurants as coworking spaces. An area of the café or restaurant is reserved for coworkers and for a monthly fee users can get food credit, a reserved space and high-speed wifi. This new trend offers a more relaxed environment than the traditional office desk.
Asia
Asia is quickly becoming a coworking hub. With its deep talent pools and affordable lifestyles, more and more people are flocking to Asian countries to work and travel. To deal with the demand for coworking spaces, businesses are expanding into the area and are creating new environments for employees to work in.
Island destinations in Thailand regularly pop up in the ‘top coworking spaces around the world’ polls and it’s not hard to see why. KoHub in Koh Lanta is one of these destinations. KoHub members are offered a more alternative way of working than their more traditional coworking counterparts. Their location, which is not overrun with tourists, offers coworkers a calmer and more holiday-like environment to do their work.
Cities across Asia offer more of the traditional coworking options; Shanghai in China, Mumbai in India, and Seoul in South Korea all offer spaces to freelancers, start-ups and businesses.
It can be difficult to say who is leading the way when it comes to coworking spaces; while big firms like ‘WeWork’ have offices all over the world, deciding on the right coworking space for you isn’t always an easy choice. Working from a beach on the coast of Thailand might work for some but others prefer a well-equipped office space to get their heads down and their work done.