5 Reasons to Get Out & Cowork
Whether you’re fully employed or full freelance, coworking is on the rise. In general, we’re living in a new age of working where the “gig-economy” reigns supreme. DeskMag predicts that by the end of 2017, more than one million people will have worked in a coworking space. More and more people are leaving their solitary home offices — and couches — and heading into less traditional office spaces.
From talking with office managers and DeskVibe users, we’ve seen that these kinds of workspaces are not confined to the single category of “coworking spaces”. Today’s flexible workers are going outside of the box to tap into communities — and companies — who have empty desks and to fill their needs. So what are those needs?

1. A good place to get s*** done
68% of people say they are more focused in a coworking space. Source
Home can be a distracting place. Whether it’s a young child, pet or otherwise your attention will always be getting drawn somewhere else. A designated workspace provides a place where you are able to focus on your work and push out final products.
2. To network & grow
From your couch, you can only reach so many potential new partners, clients and mentors. By joining a communal workspace, your network automatically grows and with it, your possibilities for new projects.
We’ve heard multiple cases in our home market of Oslo where a space’s network has made a huge impact on the success of the business. Here are two examples —
- The Startup: In order to find the right network and collaborators to take their (now international) startup to the next level, they were involved with multiple spaces over the course of 18 months. They started in an incubator/accelerator community to get their concept off the ground with the guidance of experienced entrepreneurs, then moved into more of a technical/makerspace to bring their idea to life before transitioning into a communications/creative community to build their brand. Each space provided crucial facilities and communities to drive their business forward.
- The Consultant/Budding Agency: One or two desks were all these teams needed to get their business of the ground. Before moving into their own offices, they rented desks within established companies with complementary offerings. This created automatic opportunities for collaboration and a community of like-minded thinkers to keep them up-to-date with the latest industry standards.
3. To Socialize
Humans are by nature social creatures. Working independently can often be isolating, coworking spaces and other communal workspaces provide a meeting place for these professionals.
As WeWork giant puts it, they “seek to create a place you join as an individual, ‘me’, but where you become part of a greater ‘we.’”
Communal meeting points make it easy to have social interactions in your day-to-day routine around the coworking space. Harvard Business Review found that some coworkers took more advantage of these opportunities than others. They believe that “coworkers knowing there is the potential for interactions when they desire or need them” played a big part in deciding to join these communities.
Beyond the day-to-day office encounters, it is very common for coworking spaces to host a number of social events. These events give coworkers a chance to mingle in a relaxed non-work related setting and often connect with the greater network of community members.
4. Flexibility
These new style of workspaces are breaking down the barriers in commercial real estate leasing. Freelancers, solo-preneurs, project teams, startups, etc. are no longer having to take the risk of getting locked into 5–10 year leases right from the get-go.
Many collaborative spaces offer a number of membership and desk options to fit a particular individual’s needs. In our experience, we’ve seen things ranging from fully furnished floors of office buildings to a flexible desk for part-time use.
5. $$$
Along with flexibility, one of the most undeniable benefits of this type of office is the cost. There is an exceptionally low startup cost for any freelancer or small business.
There are all kinds of pricing models from yearly to hourly — full time to part time. Many times you are able to pick and choose what you’re looking for and where you’re willing to trade off to find the right price point for your needs. But, any way you look at it, you’ll always be getting a more affordable & lower risk option than that traditional 10-year lease.
…As if we need more reasons to book a desk, recent studies have also shown that coworking can make you more productive and more creative.
What are you waiting for?
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
New desks are coming to DeskVibe weekly. Book your seat now!
