Why Working in a Coworking Space is More Rewarding than at Home

Summary – A lot of employees complained about the lack of work-life balance and motivation while working from home last year through the pandemic. coworking spaces are a great alternative, and can provide a rich and secure working environment for such professionals in much more meaningful ways.

Among the many important decisions made by an entrepreneur, one of these includes settling on a place of work. There are many bootstrapped startups across the world that may never need an office to operate. Be it for small businesses or strong, renowned brands, working from home and coworking spaces both come with their own set of opportunities and shortcomings. Given the massive shift in the perception and balance towards remote work and personal safety, many such businesses had to adapt overnight to continue operating.

Reports say that before the pandemic, only 4% of jobholders in the U.S were working from home for at least half the time, which by April 2020, had grown to over one-third of the entire working population in the country. Today, after an entire year, there are many employees who want to keep continuing working from home even after the pandemic has subsided. But, is that something that would work in the long run? Or will it go through evolution just like everything else? What, as a business owner, does the future hold for you? These decisions hold a deep value for the complete growth of your business as well as for the wellbeing of your employees.

Flexibility in Work

Before looking into the type of workspaces from where your employees can work effectively, it is important to understand and recognize the requirement of flexible yet overlapping time schedules for all your employees. This way your employees’ creativity and style can get further flexibility to thrive, and can even showcase increased productivity.

Working From Home: Pros vs Cons

There’s no denying the power of working in your pajamas as well as keeping up with your dinner time. Then there’s of course the fact that it is completely free and super convenient – both of those that any coworking space or traditional office doesn’t come close.

Your home environment is entirely controlled by you, and working from such a place gives you the entire ability to control, decorate, as well as manage your work ambiance directly. However, there’s more to it than appears on the surface.

• For example, for starters, at your home, the data network is private and therefore, compared to a public space at least, has the potential to be much more secure; unlike at cafes or coworking spaces.
• Better performance: Studies from Harvard University and more show that employees are generally more productive from home than anywhere; as they show quality improvements in their performance as well.
• Less sick leave: Since employees are located in the safety of their homes, there is less of a chance for them to contract any infections or illness. There’s also the possibility that they will work instead of taking a sick day if they don’t have to leave the comfort of their home. It automatically translates into fewer sick leaves, making it optimal for the organization.
• Loneliness and lack of motivation: Despite having many benefits, employees often feel isolated and unmotivated to finish a task due to the lack of physical presence of their coworkers. It could affect their work performance and make their productivity fall.
• Distracting surroundings: Especially true for single parents, your employee may find it extremely challenging to work from home if they have to take care of someone in the family round-the-clock, or deal with the hubbub of others in the household.

Lastly, since the work and leisure physical locations get blurred, many of your employees may also find it difficult to balance their work and life, causing burnout. Some employees may also struggle with finishing tasks on time and may lag compared to others because of the new, home-office surroundings that can be too comfortable.

Coworking Spaces: What Works Best?

Many professionals describe coworking spaces to be the perfect balance between office setup and working from home. It definitely comes with a more open, progressive mindset about interacting and collaborating with people from your industry. While for some employees, such socialization can provide them a lot of insights into their own – it can also fuel creativity, motivation, as well as a sense of purpose in their work.

Many entrepreneurs believe that coworking spaces are expensive and therefore keep away. In reality, coworking spaces are:

• Affordable, value-based offers: For business owners who already have office buildings rented for a year or more but need more space than they provide, coworking spaces are perfect to operate from entirely. With no long term agreements, you’re free to use the space as per your requirements.
• Tapping the local market: Nothing is more vital than a perfect place to build strong networks and connections in the domain for a business owner. Coworking spaces have proved time and again that the most innovative and ambitious people first meet in such places.
• Getting involved and motivated: You get to peer deep into the hard work that goes behind putting a product together or even lend your hand to making it happen. Such exposure can upskill you in many ways as well as facilitate the exchange of innovative ideas within each other.
• Mental Health benefits: With increased human interaction and clear division of work and ‘me-time’, coworking spaces are vital when you need to take your mind off of work, without breaking the concentration. Observing or participating in innovative recreational activities, or attending a workshop about young entrepreneurs can keep you focussed, and full in spirit.
• Clean, hygienic, open spaces: You can also choose to follow safety protocols to keep yourself immune to any transmission of diseases or infections. Since coworking spaces come equipped with a good and effective air circulation system, so you’ve better chances at a cleaner and healthier work environment inside.

Bringing it Together

Many experts argue that there’s no magic to the place you’re working from, it all lies in how well you can pull off tasks. While your performance does determine your business’ success story, the workplace and environment definitely have a major role to play. As businesses slowly come back to operate from their offices, it is obvious people would choose personal safety and convenience over everything else. At Zioks, we strive to build such secure and comfortable workstations that can bring the best of your creative side and keep your focus undivided. As a shared office space in Kolkata, we evaluate your business requirements and find the balance in meeting them as well as provide shared spaces that come equipped with high-end technology and have transparent safety protocols. Hoping to see you there!