COWORKING SPACES

The Covid-19 pandemic has spawned several developments within coworking spaces. Meetings learns more about what this means for the future of how we both work and meet.

Newlands Cricket Ground

The rise of coworking spaces

The way in which we go about our professional day-to-day lives has vastly changed over the past two years. From ridiculously early morning starts to hours wasted sitting in traffic during lengthy two-way commutes, gone are the days where office jobs were the norm for the majority of the working population. Although there is a push by employers to return to this more conventional way of working, for many, this is just no longer the case.

The Covid-19 pandemic may have forced us to adopt new ways of working, but even prior to the first wave there was an increased focus on the benefits of coworking spaces. With an average of 30 million workers joining the gig economy each year, according to Velocity Global, recent developments point to coworking spaces being a trend we can expect to continue for years to come.

ACCOR AND WOJO

WOJO is a massive supplier of flexible workspace solutions. It is co-owned by Accor Hotels and French real estate company Bouygues Immobilier. Recognising the benefits of offering such a service, Accor and WOJO signed an agreement to roll out a coworking model across Accor’s properties. This has resulted in the establishment of coworking spaces at 1 200 Accor Hotels and elevated WOJO as a leading global coworking brand. More recently, Accor and WOJO signed a deal with Kasada Capital Management to bring coworking spaces to Africa. Kasada was created to both invest in the development of new hotels, as well as provide the capital necessary for the takeover of existing hotels in the sub-Saharan region. It has, under its management, a US$500 million (R8.5 billion) investment fund.

“Our spaces will meet the new expectations of our international [travellers], while transforming our hotels into real living spaces perfectly integrated into their surroundings,” commented Olivier Granet, managing partner and managing director at Kasada.

The first WOJO coworking spaces in Africa will start appearing in the second half of 2022. With private offices and meeting rooms, these will provide flexible solutions specifically tailored for international business travellers, local businesses and those who are self-employed.

CREATING ‘FRICTIONFREE’ WORKING AND MEETING SPACES

Workshop17, a South African company specialising in providing coworking solutions, has signed an agreement with the Newlands Cricket Ground to provide 60 ‘friction-free’ office spaces on its premises.

A friction-free workspace experience is currently being touted as “the workplace concept

for the future” and is intended to free physical working environments from unnecessary effort and stress arising from numerous bottlenecks. This extends to everything from spending less time in traffic to having office amenities blended with relaxing spaces all within easy reach.

“We feel privileged to have been invited by the developers of the Newlands Cricket Ground, ExperienceEdudev and Heico, to create a Workshop17, in partnership with the co-owners: Western ConferencingProvince Cricket Association and Sanlam. The new Newlands coworking space will provide Southern Suburbs residents the option of working nearer to home or at other Workshop17 ANEW locations that serve communities. Essentially, it offers companies of any size the option of vacating existing offices or reducing the size, opting for these flexible locations,” says Paul Keursten, co-founder and CEO of Workshop17.

A plus point of this particular development is that activity from Workshop17 will not compromise the core purpose of the sportsground as a key international cricket venue.

Other local players within the coworking space, such as BlackBrick and The Business Exchange, are also growing their businesses along with the increased demand for flexible and coworking spaces. REMOTE WORKING AND WHY COWORKING SOLUTIONS MAY BE KEY Earlier this year, Meetings featured #WorkAnywhere – a global movement formed by a collective of experts who are trying to drive a shift in policy around remote working. In June, #WorkAnywhere released a report highlighting some of the challenges experienced by remote workers. This is a summary of their findings: There is a link between working from home and loneliness: • ‘Most lonely’ employees spend more time working from home (77.2%) than ‘least lonely’ employees (64.1%). • ‘Home’ ranks lowest when employees rate how socially fulfilling they find their primary work location. Coworking spaces were reported as the most socially fulfilling work locations (even more than offices!): • 42% of all respondents said they feel most socially fulfilled and connected to other people in ‘third spaces’ (compared to 33% ‘in office’ and 26% ‘at home’). • When asked which ‘third space’ they feel most socially fulfilled and connected to other people, an overwhelming majority of 60.7% said ‘coworking spaces.’ Workers yearn to make social connections throughout the workday: • 68% of respondents believe making social connections during the workday is important. • 59.7% of respondents want to make stronger personal connections with ‘neighbours and people in the community.’ “Organisations are struggling with how to create a sense of belonging to combat employee loneliness and disconnection. This research examines what steps organisations, policymakers and workers can take postpandemic to bolster social connectivity and well-being at work, no matter where it is conducted. Importantly, the results pertain to not just organisational employees but also to the large numbers of contractors and freelancers who contribute to our global economy,” explains Dr Constance Hadley of Boston University.

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ABOUT #WORKANYWHERE

The #WorkAnywhere Campaign is the global advocacy movement representing remote and hybrid workers. Launched during the Covid-19 pandemic, which triggered a 600% increase in remote working, #WorkAnywhere has reached more than 150 million people. The campaign has hosted policy sessions with the European Parliament, European Commission, Microsoft, Zoom, Selina, Remote and others on life-work balance and workplace loneliness. Its research project, Social Connection in Remote Work, is the first-ever study exploring workplace loneliness that incorporates data from non-home remote work environments. Their upcoming research initiatives explore life-work balance and gender violence in the remote workforce. #WorkAnywhere is committed to empowering workers and unlocking the societal benefits of remote work, such as lowering the cost of living, increasing economic opportunities for women, and reducing pollution. For more information on the study and its results, visit the website: www.workanywhere.org/social-connection-in-remote-work.