Coworking: the awkward teenage years
This piece was co-written with Pedro Jardim and Jorge Vega, and inspired by conversations with attendees from Coworking Europe 2016
“Data from the 2016 Global Coworking Survey proves there is growing demand for flexible and shared workspace of many types, shapes and sizes. For those that are fearful of any type of competition or others that plan on adding 2,000 spaces in 10 years, one must ask what their true priority is: themselves or their members?”
— Mike Larosa, Coworkaholic
In recent years, the world has experienced a surge of interest around activities related to sharing. From sharing rides to letting strangers inside our homes, companies like Couchsurfing, Airbnb, Uber, Ebay and Etsy have shifted our understanding of what it means to engage and exchange with others. The expeditious rise of these new ways of trading and behaving has been shaped by increasing global access to the Internet, which has triggered a cultural shift in our perception of ownership. According to Katharine Earley, this dynamic of “access over ownership” will define the future of consumption as sharing becomes as a mainstream market behavior. This transformation in the marketplace has sparked an interest among freelancers, startups and companies to pursue alternative ways of living and working in a more collaborative, networked world.
In this context, coworking spaces have emerged to play host to those looking for more flexibility and sharing at work. Due the fact that they are able to attract a diverse group of freelancers and entrepreneurs, coworking spaces have become important hubs of economic activity in cities and rural communities alike, and serve as incubators for all things “new”.
Much is happening in the world of coworking, and in recent years we have seen a swift of the sector from a grassroots movement to global business opportunity. While some spaces still maintain small and intimate communities, other players such as Impact Hub (15 thousand members) and WeWork (30 thousand members) have emerged and scaled to capitalize on increasing market demand for flexible workspaces. Many of these trends were explored in Brussels at Coworking Europe, an annual gathering of community builders and co-working advocates from Europe and beyond.
Hello again, BXL
Coworking Europe took place in Brussels, where it began several years ago, and was organized by Social Workspaces and produced by Jean-Yves Huwart and Vanessa Sans. Over the course of three days, attendees gathered in the cavernous belly of BEL Brussels, an “eco-dynamic” building by the river that stands as one of the largest multi-use buildings to meet European passive energy standards.
The first day featured talks and panels that introduced current trends and issues in the sector, from the rapid growth of coworking in China to the emergence of rural coworking and coliving spaces, and the social impact of these spaces on local communities. During the opening session, Carsten Foertsch from Deskmag presented new data from the Global Coworking Survey, which indicated that the coworking movement is maturing to a point where the booming growth that once characterized the sector has since leveled off. Indeed, we’ve reached the awkward teenage years of coworking, where emotions are churning and tensions are emerging that will shape the identity of the movement moving forward. From session to session, each talk provoked pointed responses from members of the audience on Twitter, where many took aim at the rapid growth of franchise spaces and perceived corporatization of the sector. These tensions continued over the course the conference, and sparked interesting discussions around what it means to cowork in 2016.
Beyond the buzz
In the afternoon of the first day, Pedro Jardim represented Coliga on a panel that explored the impact of freelancers on the modern economy and the collectivisation of work. This talk was one of the most well recieved, and featured a lineup speakers from Joe Griston, the Director of People and Talent at Freelancer.com to Matija Raos, co-founder of Coworking Croatia and coordinator of European Freelancers Week.
After a late start, the second day began with an unconference where attendees proposed and organized their own events. Some of these breakout sessions responded to practical challenges in the sector, like how to build an authentic brand or how furniture creates space for collaboration, while others focused on more meta topics like “final destination” of the “future of work” and ways to “de-bullshit” the coworking movement. Coliga led a session on community building that explored how spaces can unlock the personal and professional potential of their members.
On the third day, the conference featured masterclass workshops on topics like collaboration between corporations and coworking spaces, and wrapped up with a local tour of coworking spaces in and around Brussels. After three days full of engaging conversations, the conference ended with a party and closing celebration.
As a team, we traveled to the conference to introduce Coliga to a curated group of stakeholders and leaders from across the coworking movement. From Croatia and the Canary Islands to China, Switzerland and beyond, were able to build relationships with interesting people from around the world who each play a key role in the sector — from community managers and researchers to activists and journalists. By bringing together a diverse audience from around the world, the conference created an engaging space for important conversations to happen between coworking space founders, managers and companies like ours, who are building technologies to support communities. We’re thankful to have connected with new friends from Cobot, Nexudus, Bisner, Copass and Habu, and discovered that each of our tools are well positioned to create integrations that serve coworking spaces.
What we’re sensing
After reflecting on our discussions over drinks and debriefs with conference participants, our team has started to sense patterns that indicate an emergent division in the coworking movement between two different streams. The spaces in each of these streams have different goals, founding narratives and priorities:
- Community-driven coworking — these spaces began as a platform for community engagement and exist to create a space that serves members in their local environment. Stakeholders in this stream are very intentional when it comes to relational community building; they value human connection and are not solely motivated by profit.
- Shareholder and profit-driven coworking — these spaces have emerged most recently and respond to growing market demand for flexible working environments. Stakeholders in this stream are leveraging the coworking movement to generate real estate revenue and often aim towards rapid growth and expansion.
Many have framed these two streams as adversaries, where the social interests of members are positioned as divergent from the financial interests of founders. As a team, we would have like to have seen more conversations at the conference that address the common ground between these two groups rather than focusing on their differences. As the coworking movement evolves from this point forward, it will be essential to find a way to empower both sides to learn from and support each other on the path towards sustainability.
- On the side of community-driven coworking spaces, there is a need to develop frameworks that can help them to run their operations more efficiently, increase profitability through other revenue streams related to the quality of their network.
- On the side of shareholder and profit driven coworking spaces, there is a need for community integration and capacity building in hosting and facilitation to ensure that they are building a place that generates value for the community beyond their own bottom line.
Moving forward, we invite you to join the effort to address these concerns and join the conversation around ways to improve the coworking movement. See below for three open questions that we’re exploring, then head to the Coworking Europe Facebook group to share your thoughts in reference to this article.
1. How might we bridge the gap between these two streams of focus in ways that ensure that values of openness, trust and collaboration are fostered and maintained?
2. How might coworking spaces and corporations collaborate in ways that create sustainable value for both parties?
3. Is orientation of coworking spaces as a service contradictory to community involvement?
