My coworking journal week 6: A Coworking Odyssey
đź‘‹My name is Emma Fenstermaker and I am a 20-year-old American student spending the second half of her Sophomore year abroad in Berlin. For the past six weeks, I have had the opportunity to complete an internship with Coworkies, an online platform that connects people between coworking spaces globally (www.coworkies.com ).
I have spent my time educating myself on the concept of coworking, exploring different spaces, and interviewing people connected to coworking. My project has taught me about a topic that I had previously known less than nothing about. Through this internship, I have become more familiar with Berlin and its residents and I have gained a full appreciation of the many different types of projects that coworking attracts. Each week, I published a blog post discussing my activities of the week, insights I gained, and what feelings I had about each new discovery. For my final week both in Berlin and for this internship, I have decided to piece together and summarize each of my previous weeks into a culminating post that presents a comprehensive view of my project. What you are about to read represents the winding journey I have taken in the past month or so into the heart of the concept of flexible workspaces.
Week 1: Remind Me What Coworking Is Again?
My first week began in a place of total uncertainty. I did not know what coworking was and had only the vaguest idea of what studying the concept would entail. Luckily, my mentor for the project has established weekly goals and the first set of goals was more or less digging into what exactly coworking is and learning a few coworking stories. I spent two days straight researching and reading up. I learned that the term “coworking” is fairly new. While there were a few precursors, the first official coworking space did not open until 2005 in San Francisco. Shortly afterwards, St. Oberholz (of which you will hear more about later) opened in Berlin, and for the next ten years, more and more spaces popped up all around the world.
Before I began my research, I had some very hazy ideas of what a futuristic form of work entailed. I imagined collaborative spaces and a lack of hierarchy. I thought that the workers at such a workplace would be given a large degree of freedom and mobility and would have the opportunity to share their ideas openly. When I started my internship, I was able to refine these ideas a little. During my first week, I was working out of Rainmaking Loft, a coworking space mostly populated by tech startups and entrepreneurs. By working there, I realized that a coworking space does not necessarily mean that everyone there is working towards the same goal.
Coworkers pay to use the space and while they may be working on different projects, the shared work environment and sense of community fosters innovation and creativity. In addition to what I could see with my own eyes, I also read up on just why coworking spaces are so productive. The Harvard Business Review released a piece explaining several aspects of coworking spaces. Mainly, they offer a sense of both community and control over one’s own life and work. Because the work that coworkers are doing is exactly what they choose, they feel that their labor has greater meaning than they would if they were just cogs in the machine of a larger corporation (hbr.org). I witnessed that increased productivity at Rainmaking Loft, where everyone worked continuously but with a sense of genuine enjoyment rather than stress. I continued to witness this trend when I moved on to other coworking spaces in the coming weeks of my project.
Week 2: Down the Coworking Rabbit Hole
My second week took me away from Rainmaking Loft to a different kind of coworking space, one focused on social innovation projects. This space, called Impact Hub, hosts friendly people and a massive wall of windows that allows sunlight to pour in. Both of these factors made me immediately love the work space.
That week, with a more solid understanding of coworking under my belt, I began looking into coworking spaces in Berlin, Madrid, and Lisbon. Doing so, I discovered over 100 spaces and a dizzying array of specialties. I paid the closest attention to the Berlin spaces because I was trying to scope out a few spaces to explore in the coming weeks.
The places that most intrigued me were Sankt Oberholz, the oldest coworking space in Berlin, Blogfabrik, a space focused on digital artistic content, and the Social Impact Lab, which hosts projects that aim to address various social and environmental issues.
While I hoped to interview the coworking space managers at Sankt Oberholz and Blogfabrik, at Social Impact Lab I was interested in one project in particular. Anderland Systems is a team of two who are working to combat climate change by developing a system of solar cooling in order to store agricultural products (berlin.socialimpactlab.eu). I feel that climate change is the most pressing issue of our time, so I was therefore intrigued by their work and wanted to hear more about it. Sankt Oberholz and Blogfabrik appealed to me because of my interest in creative writing, as Blogfabrik caters to creative projects and Sankt Oberholz has a very creative website with various stories and tidbits of information.
In addition to looking into coworking spaces, I participated in Impact Lab’s work culture and activities such as the weekly lunch wherein everyone gathers and either buys food, helps cook, or helps with the cleanup. Everyone was friendly, collaborative, and clearly enjoyed being in each other’s company. Observing this environment emphasized to me the difference between coworking spaces and traditional German workplaces. Everything I learned about German workplaces indicated that not much socialization occurs in the office and that people work hard with few breaks while they are in the office. Due to the nature of coworking spaces, however, collaboration is an important part of the creation process and coworkers mingle with each other in order to foster a sense of community and increase productivity.
Week 3: Fear of Rejection, Coworking Edition
My third week was a blur of logistics. I contacted all of the spaces that I had singled out the week before in an attempt to arrange interviews for the following week. I always agonize over every email that I send, and working within a culture different from my own added an extra dimension of anxiety to reaching out to different people. I was not sure what the best approach was in asking them favors, but once I contacted them, I found everyone to be extremely polite, accommodating, and curious about my project. I was not able to actually conduct any interviews that week, but I did set up a firm schedule for the following week.
When I was not looking into logistics, I was exploring various coworking stories. One of the ones that caught my attention was published by Supermarkt, another Berlin coworking space. The story was about Platform Coop, a group that is discovering the concept of cooperative businesses and democratic ownership. They are dedicated creating a “humane alternative to the free market model” (supermarkt-berlin.net). Through both digital and in-person exploration, I continued to discover the broad scope of people and projects that coworking spaces attract. No two projects that I found were exactly alike.
The rest of the week passed peacefully as I drafted questions for my interviews the following week. I enjoyed quietly working from Impact Hub in preparation for doing some traveling around Berlin in order to conduct my interviews.
Week 4: A Coworking Interview Whirlwind
During my fourth week, my interview preparation and scheduling paid off. I conducted three interviews over the course of five days, and though some of my questions were similar, no two interviews were alike. Each coworker had a different, unique perspective and set of answers to share, which made the experience enjoyable. I was a little nervous about each interaction, but everyone I spoke to was so friendly and accommodating that my nerves melted away the more we talked.
I started off my round of interviews with Tobias Schwarz, the coworking manager at Sankt Oberholz.
We met in the coffee shop there, which immediately gave me a liking for the space as I love spending time in cafes with cozy or quirky atmospheres. Tobias gave me a tour, emphasizing the creatives ways in which they had created a trendy space while maintaining the original architecture of the historic building. For example, lamps on colorful cords are strong from the antique light fixtures, creating a unique blend of old and new. After viewing the space, we sat down and chatted about Sankt Oberholz’s history, its iconic place in the Berlin coworking community, and the ways in which it is still growing and changing. Tobias was helpful and informative, and my only regret was that I was not able to hang around in the cafe area for a longer period of time.
My next interview took me to the Anderland Systems team at the Social Impact Lab.
It took me a little while to locate the building, but once I found my way in, Jan and Andreas were friendly and welcoming. Jan seemed a little shy about answering questions at first but as the interview wore on he became more and more prolific. I chatted with them about how their project has evolved, what they consider the most alarming aspects of climate change, and the importance of everyone getting involved in saving the planet. I was very engaged in the interview as I have always felt strongly about environmental issues. I loved the last line of the interview, which was Andreas saying that “many small people in many different places can change the world” as I felt it was the perfect encapsulation of their project and the effect of everyone working towards the same goal.
My final interview of the week did not require me to venture away from Impact Hub. I talked with Joriam Philippe, who is one of the three owners of Estudio Pira.
Pira is a multimedia company that aims to create social impact through art, games, and digital design. It is a very nebulous concept that is difficult to translate to a short, easy description, but interviewing Joriam definitely helped me get a better idea of what Pira is about. Joriam has a very singular worldview as he does not believe in small talk and wants to bring the concept of playing into everyday worklife. I loved hearing his point of view and learning more about the projects that Pira has undertaken. It sounds like a company that thrives in a sort of orderly chaos and generates new forms of creativity with each project they undertake.
Week 5: Coworking from Place to Place
My fifth week took me away from Impact Hub as I attempted to work from a different coworking space each day. I say attempted because my plans did not always pan out. Everything went smoothly on Monday, when I returned to Sankt Oberholz to work from their cafe. I love the sounds, smell, and ambience of coffee shops so I spent a peaceful several hours there and left satisfied with the experience. The next day, however, I planned to go Salon Renate, a coworking space with a nice cafe. When I arrived, there was no sign of life even though the space supposedly opens at 10 a.m. I lingered and paced back and forth in front of the deserted building for awhile before accepting that no one would be arriving to open it anytime soon. Instead, I went in search of a cafe with wifi and worked from there for the day.
Next, I visited JuggleHUB, a space I had read about through the Coworkies blog. It allows parents to bring their children with them to be cared for while they work. I was able to work from their small cafe area, but when I arrived, it was a little unclear whether or not the space was open to the public, but I talked with one of the owners, Silvia, who made me feel comfortable and welcome. I enjoyed the cozy atmosphere and the occasional toddler that would wander into the room from time to time, so I left the space satisfied. Thursday went without a hitch. I visited Agora Collective and worked from their “Sweethearts” cafe area. The room definitely had a “sweetheart” theme with pink folding chairs and glowing pink decorations on the walls. I was not able to witness any of their coworking areas, but from the attitude of the people working in the cafes and the waiters, I imagine that everyone works together calmly and harmoniously.
On my last day of the week, I had planned to go to Unicorn.Berlin. My first misstep occurred when I went to the coworking space instead of the cafe, not realizing that they were two separate locations. My second was not realizing that you have to pay to use even the cafe space. My solution was to order one coffee and work from the cafe for an hour, and then move on to a different location. I ended up at Sankt Oberholz again, a pleasant place to finish off my week of coworking exploration. Although the Unicorn space was nice, the monetary policy did not match my student budget, so I was glad to return to Sankt Oberholz.
In addition to working from different coworking spaces, I also attended two events hosted at coworking spaces. On Thursday, I attended a talk at Supermarkt, a coworking space situated near Impact Hub. The talk was given by metroZones collective, a group that studies urban art, research and education. They discussed several different areas of Berlin and projects they have undertaken in each location. Even though I was not familiar with all of the terminology, I still found the discussion stimulating and engaging, and I plan to look further into the concept in the future.
On Friday, I attended a musical event at Noize Fabrik, a coworking space centered on musicians and their work. The musician performing was “I Have a Clan,” a Dublin artist. His voice and songs were beautiful and soothing, and I left the event feeling very relaxed, happy to end the week on such a melodic note.
Week 6: The Final Chapter
My last week was mostly comprised of compiling this overview of my time, but I also managed to fit in a few final interviews. The first was one that had been in the works for several weeks: a tour and interview in Blogfabrik, the space where the coworkers pay for the space with their creative work. Antje König, Senior Project and Communications Manager, gave me a quick tour of the space and facilities after presenting an overview of how Blogfabrik functions. One of the coworkers there testified to how much he enjoys working there and how the community provides new ideas for him and stimulates his work.
After the tour, Antje took the time to answer a few of my questions.
She made it clear that collaboration and community are priorities at Blogfabrik. She discussed the role that art plays in highlighting societal issues, the importance of both print and digital content, and the challenges in running a space as unique as Blogfabrik. Although my visit was not long, I still feel that I gained a good sense of Blogfabrik’s work environment. I came to the conclusion that out of all the spaces I had seen, I would find it easiest to work out of Blogfabrik because the creative nature of the work there appeals to me and the space’s mixture of private and public areas seemed like the optimal mixture to promote concentration and productivity.
The second interview I completed this week was with Vishal Jodhani, the Experience Design Director at the Impact Hub.
He was someone I had seen often during my time there and chatted with occasionally, but I did not know a lot about what all he did. During our interview, he told me about how his job is to curate the Hub experience for anyone who happens to be there. He spoke enthusiastically about how Impact Hub sees itself as a community ecosystem first and a coworking space second. His passion about social issues and the exchange of ideas was palpable, and everything he said made me want to hear more. When I finished with my questions, he asked me a few of his own about my time at the Hub, and I told him how much I had enjoyed the friendly faces and communal atmosphere.
The rest of my week was split between polishing up my blogs and preparing to leave Berlin. As my time draws to a close, I have come to a few conclusions about the nature of coworking and the things I have witnessed during my internship.
Every space that I visited had a common theme: community. Over and over again, I witnessed open spaces where and people mingling and collaborating.
While I fully appreciate the value of this type of workspace, after seeing so many, I have to conclude that I do not think coworking spaces would suit my needs. I am a fairly introverted person who likes to really zone into my work without interruption. Therefore, while I do like to collaborate on occasion, I am not sure the community driven, open spaces would work for me.
Despite that realization, I have sincerely enjoyed my time in coworking spaces these past six weeks. I have come to appreciate how many different kinds of people and projects can be housed in the spaces, and I have witnessed the passion and ingenuity that coworkers bring to their work. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to talk with and interview so many different people, and my time with Coworkies will always stay with me, no matter where my life path takes me.
