Coworking
Coworking is a style of work that involves a shared working environment, often an office, and independent activity. Unlike in a typical office environment, those coworking are usually not employed by the same organization. Typically it is attractive to work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, or people who travel frequently who end up working in relative isolation.
Coworking is also the social gathering of a group of people who are still working independently, but who share values, and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with like-minded talented people in the same space.
Coworking offers a solution to the problem of isolation that many freelancers experience while working at home, while at the same time letting them escape the distractions of home.
Coworking is not only about the physical space, but about establishing the coworking community first. Its benefits can already be experienced outside of its spaces, and it is recommended to start with building a coworking community first before considering opening a Coworking space. However, some coworking spaces don't build a community: they just get a part of an existing one by combining their opening with an event which attracts their target group.
A lot of coworking communities are formed by organizing casual coworking events (e.g. "Jellies" ) that can take place in private living rooms or in public places such as suitable cafés, galleries or multi-functional spaces. During these events Coworkers can experience the benefits of Coworking and get to know each other which lowers the barriers to join a space later.
Contents
1 History
2 Coworking in Europe
3 Demographics
4 Misconceptions
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
History
The term "coworking" was coined by Bernie DeKoven in 1999 and used as a domain in 2000 and in 2005 Brad Neuberg used it to describe a physical space which he originally called a "9 to 5 group". Neuberg organized a coworking site called the "Hat Factory" in San Francisco, a live-work loft that was home to three technology workers, and open to others during the day. Brad was also one of the founders of Citizen Space, the first "Work Only" coworking space, and the space that spawned a global movement. Now, coworking spaces exist worldwide, with over 700 locations in the United States alone. In 2012, NextSpace, BLANKSACES, Link Coworking, WorkBar, CoCo, and 654 Croswell founded The League of Extraordinary Coworking Spaces.
San Francisco continues to have a large presence in the coworking community, and is home to a growing number of coworking spaces including Sandbox Suites, NextSpace, PARISOMA, HubSoMa, and Citizen Space. Also in the bay area, Anca Mosoiu established Tech Liminal in 2009, a coworking space in Oakland. Coworking has also spread into many other metropolitan areas, with cities such as Portland, Oregon and Wichita, Kansas now offering several thriving coworking venues.
Several books have discussed the history, scope, and tenets of coworking, including: I'm Outta Here (October 2009) by Drew Jones, Todd Sundsted and Tony Bacigalupo; Coworking: How Freelancers Escape the Coffee Shop Office (February 2011) by Angel Kwiatkowski and Beth Buczynski; and most recently, Working in the UnOffice: A Guide to Coworking for Indie Workers, Small Businesses, and Nonprofits (August 2011) by Genevieve V. DeGuzman and Andrew I. Tang.
Some coworking spaces were developed by nomadic Internet entrepreneurs seeking an alternative to working in coffeeshops and cafes, or to isolation in independent or home offices. A 2007 survey showed that many employees worry about feeling isolated and losing human interaction if they were to telecommute. Roughly a third of both private and public-sector workers also reported that they didn’t want to stay at home during work.
Coworking in Europe
As of 2012, the UK is among the most responsive European country to the idea of collaborative working, with a special focus on London. The city leads the co-working market not only for the large number of co-working spaces it offers but also for the variety of spaces that exist to fit the differing needs among start-ups, entrepreneurs and freelancers. In March 2012 Google along with several local partners opened a co-working space in the heart of East London. Campus London is located in Tech City and helps multiple start-ups to grow under the same roof, by mentoring them and giving them the chance to learn more through the events that run everyday.
Coworking is also becoming more common in continental Europe, with the startup metropolis Berlin being a major booster for this development. Several diverse offers can be found in the city, such as betahaus, House of Clouds, co.up, raumstation, United Urbanites and many more. But this kind of working environment is not exclusive to big cities. Also smaller urban areas with many young and creative people and especially university cities may offer coworking spaces, with Cowork in Greifswald (Germany) being one example.
Coworking space in Glasgow, UK
Another example of the coworking trend is in Scotland, where the Government has introduced legislation to bring business back into the city and town centres. The Unoccupied Properties Bill encourages business owners to rent unused office space again. Measures to reduce rates reliefs on empty commercial properties provides further incentives for property owners to become 'informal landlords' to coworkers.
Demographics
A 2011 survey found most coworkers are currently in their late twenties to late thirties, with an average age of 34 years. Two-thirds are men, one third are women. Four in five coworkers started their career with a university education. The majority of coworkers work in creative industries or new media. Slightly more than half of all coworkers are freelancers. However, the share of salaried employees increases since larger companies start to experiment with coworking, especially in the U.S., where 35 percent work as salaried employees.
A small-scale, non-representative study at Betahaus Berlin found that the large majority of Betahaus users was freelancing or just founding a company, and that the workforce there consisted of a diverse, heterogeneous group regarding income (below €1.800 to over €5.000), age (22-47 years) and profession (design, media, mechatronics…). Furthermore, the study found that while just about 40 per cent of respondents have insurance comparable to local employees (i.e. health insurance, pension plan and at least one more relevant insurance), more than half feels sufficiently financially and socially secure.
Misconceptions
Many misconceptions abound about what coworking encompasses and how it distinguishes itself from business accelerators, incubators and executive suites. These spaces do not seem to fit into the coworking model because they often miss the social, collaborative, and informal aspects of the process. In coworking, management practices are closer to that of a cooperative, including a focus on community rather than profit. Many of the coworking participants are also participants in BarCamp and other related open-source participatory technology events.