Is Temporal the New Formal? Decentralisation of Workplace in the Digital City by Vaibhav Saini

Is Temporal the New Formal? Decentralisation of Workplace in the Digital City Seminar ’19 Anurag Saini, Bharati Gupta, Paraz Sonowal, Pavani Gupta, Vaibhav Saini, Venkatesh Senguttuvan

Abstract The culture of work-places is now transforming from a formal permanent to a more flexible temporal environment. This research aims to decode the effects of temporality in the formal sector by focusing on coworking set-ups in Connaught Place and Nehru Place in Delhi. The research is premised on the fact that every physical aspect has a digital equivalent. This pushes the workplace boundaries and renders the whole city as a transit workplace. This study questions and analyses the direct and indirect impact of coworking culture on its user and the city. Based on close reading, the paper draws from the concepts of temporality, flexibility and collaborative consumption to understand the infrastructure that enables flexible working. The research uses qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze the primary data that was collected as surveys, field studies and semi-structured interviews with co-workers and coworking site owner-operators. The research concludes that while SME’s boost the need for coworking, and the intended benefits of these spaces are manifold - there are underlying concerns of job precarity, competitors cutting into the market opportunities and intellectual property rights. There also stands the greater dilemma of indirect commercial gentrification. The research thus uncovers that temporality is becoming the new permanence and is paving the way for the city to out-price itself.

Keywords: Temporality, Coworking, Flexibility in the workplace, Gentrification, Collaborative Consumption

Introduction Coworking is one of the fastest-growing movements in the work culture which enables the current workforce to connect, work and socialize simultaneously. There is a huge difference in how we used to design and operate our workspaces with communication infrastructure slowly establishing its equal importance when compared to the physical infrastructure. One of the reasons has been the shift in mindset as with the onset of the sharing economy, collaboration and networking in the workplace have been a key demand driver for the coworking setups. Thus there exists a growing ecosystem of the workers of today that recognise the value of flexibility, community, and shared resources. Flexible office working covers a wide range of options outside the traditional nine to five full-time job, namely flexibility in location (home working, mobile working, and ‘teleworking’), flexibility in time (flexi-time, part-time working, job share, compressed working weeks and annualised hours) and flexibility in terms of the workplace. Collaboration happens in an office too so what makes coworking different? It is the potential of networking and absence of investment costs that make it temporal and thus extremely flexible and viable. There are no owners, but just users. The coworking lifestyle is further being boosted by social networking and the creation of new places to meet and work such as coffee shops and business hubs. Such places cater to the needs of the mobile workforce and have resulted in greater multi-use of space — both internal and external. The impact of Wi-Fi technology has further blurred the boundaries of the working day, both spatially and temporally. We can now work or play anytime and anywhere. And thus, the nature of our work has become increasingly transit and effectively temporal. (Gross and Ackerman, 2003) The key characteristics of the formal sector are its specific working hours, regular wages, job security, and employee benefits. Essentially such a job configuration requires a permanent space. But slowly these offices are upgrading to incorporate the flexibility culture within their walls. Also, many of the present-day businesses, self-employed, and freelancers are small-scale, particularly in the creative sector, a field that is vulnerable to the changing winds of fashion and taste. (Bishop and Williams, 2012) The development of these SMEs is often unpredictable as they are also highly reliant on networking and cooperation. In this scenario, coworking setups provide a safe and comprehensive environment that mitigates the risks and helps the collaboration and community flourish.

The paper is structured in three major parts. The Literature Review traces the history of flexible working and states the binary terms that contributed to the development of the research. The Methods and Data list down primary data collected. The Analysis uses qualitative techniques and draws out a critical thematic analysis. The paper explores the following themes concerning Coworking: 1. Social, Cultural, Physical implications of coworking on the user 2. Feasibility of the Coworking model in Delhi 3. Effects of Coworking on the corporate sector 4. Questioning sustainability - The dilemma of commercial gentrification

Literature Review In this section, we define and elaborate upon the key concepts that are relevant to the research based on past peer-reviewed and independent literature, that will further help in the deeper understanding and analysis of the topic. Liquid Modernity A hundred years ago 'to be modern' meant to chase 'the final state of perfection' -- now it means a continuous need for change with no 'final state' in sight and none desired (Palese, 2013). Bauman maintains that we have now moved from a phase of 'solid' modernity to a phase of liquid' modernity - a phase that like a liquid, cannot keep its shape for long. This degree of liquidisation defines modernity and the uncertainty is leading to emergence of temporary initiatives.

Definition of Solid Modernity : Solid modernity involved certain unknown and uncertainties through control over nature, and by creating hierarchical bureaucracy and rules and regulations. All of these control mechanisms sought to remove personal insecurities, making the chaotic aspects of human life appear well ordered and familiar. (Bauman, 2000)

Definition of Liquid Modernity : It is characterized by uncertainty, continuous risk and shifting trust. What is trustworthy today may not be tomorrow. Such fragmented lives require individuals to be flexible and adaptable - to be constantly ready and willing to change tactics at short notice, and in such a world temporary activities of all kinds could be expected to flourish. (Bauman, 2000) The current shift to liquid modernity is causing a change in the lifestyle and increasing the need for breaking boundaries. The idea of permanence is drifting to a more nomadic and flexible living. This gives birth to temporality and the use for flexible spaces.

Temporality Ephemerality of temporary interventions in urban space leads to an exploration of time and temporality: how it is affected by the processes of, and responses to, acceleration associated with globalization, and how it includes both precarity and creativity. The processes of temporariness may have been embedded in human societies of all times, but its current increase of frequency is rooted in the particular conditions of our time. (Madanipour, 2017) Physically, temporality gets embedded in the temporary construction or temporary uses of permanent space. (Madanipour, 2017) But, it’s interesting to notice how this notion

gets manifested only in the informal sector. The notions of time, the current economic and technological changes that have accelerated the pace of urban life, cause a severe impact on the urban and social life. For the urban populations who are always on the move, easy access to technology and nomadic urbanity brings about its own aesthetics, becoming a way of life which gets constantly fuelled by consumerism. Now the intention of the user regarding the space is itself temporary, even if it is in hindsight or through subconscious actions, and thus ephemerality is slowly plaguing its way through the formal sector. This temporal nature of the workplace is characterised by the fact that you are no longer bound to a space. Their workspace is established when and where they plug in and ends with the unplugging of their system to digital network.

Flexibility Flexibility refers to the ever-changing dynamics of one’s lifestyle. With the advent of communication technology, people have become much more closer to one another leading to the formation of a “global village”, where we can mimic personal interactions in ways that have never been possible before. This is breaking the walls of permanence leading to a flexible lifestyle. The following is an excerpt from, ‘The urban planner’s guide to coworking: A case study of Toronto, Ontario’ by Zebby Petch explaining the impact of flexibility on the new workforce: Adult Millennials (ages 21-32) – also called Gen Yers -- are facing a new bare-bones economy where industry expertise is expected but job training is in short supply. While 83% indicated that choice played at least some role in adopting the independent work path, Gen Y is less likely to have chosen independent work completely (40% vs. 61% of others). Gen Yers want to do what they love and they value flexibility, but they also face high levels of unemployment. Twenty-five percent listed an inability to find permanent work as a reason for going independent. Nearly a third – 29% – turned to independence as their first job after school. (MBO, 2012) As observed above, the need for new collaborative spaces is risen by both temporality and flexibility in the changing work environment. Capital flows with the creative class. This is because of the increase in startups and freelancing workforce which is a consequence of both liquid modernity and the increase in the creative class leading to a new form of collaborative consumption.

Collaborative consumption Collaborative consumption is an economic model in which consumers use online tools to collaborate on owning, renting, sharing, and trading goods and services.(Botsman and Rogers, 2010) Collaborative consumption is said to describe ‘the rapid explosion in swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting being reinvented through the latest technologies and peer-to-peer marketplaces in ways and on a scale never possible before’ Driven by growing dissatisfaction with their role as robotic consumers manipulated by marketing, people are turning more and more to models of consumption that emphasize usefulness over ownership, community over selfishness, and sustainability over novelty. Several new businesses have emerged to serve this new market, exploiting the ability of

the Internet to create networks of shared interests and trust and to simplify the logistics of collective use. The basic argument made by those those who approve the view that communications technologies are driving collaborative consumption is that people are reproducing the voluntary behaviour intended to benefit another that they are practicing online in offline situations, with the polysemic concept of ‘sharing’ serving as a key notion bridging online and offline activities, or, as put concisely by the headline of an article in The New York Times, we are ‘Learning to Share, Thanks to the Web’ (Goodman, 2010: 2) Thus, Sharing Economy marketplaces are generating new and ever-more-entitled forms of consumption. (Slee, 2017) "The Sharing Economy promises to help previously powerless individuals take more control of their lives by becoming ‘micro-entrepreneurs’. The problems with the sharing Economy do not lie with the individual participant looking for a novel vacation or a quick ride across town, any more than the broader problems of consumerism lies with the individual filling a car with gasoline or buying a new pair of shoes. The problems lie with the - companies themselves, and with the financial interests using those companies to drive a broader agenda of deregulation in search of private wealth.” (Slee, 2017)

Background and Significance

(Yu et al., n.d.)

In the 1970s, Jack Nilles proposed the first flexible working concept that defined the term ‘telecommuting’. This idea was proposed from the prospect of traffic reduction and organisation benefit. Gil Gordon organised the TELECOMMUTE conference from 1992 to 1998, which had important impacts in the field. (Yu et al., n.d.)Transportation evaluation was conducted by Mokhtarian and her collaborators to evaluate the impact of telecommuting. Since 2000, telecommuting has become increasingly popular following the adoption of the internet. In 1995, Volhedon proposed the concept of activity based workspace, wherein the employees workspace revolves around their activities that questioned the idea of a permanent workspace. Eventually, these new strategies and the idea of flexible workspaces were practised extensively. Companies like teelcase, IBM, Johnson Controls, used these strategies with expectations to improve consumer adaptability and satisfaction . From that point on companies endeavoured to align the workplace with the type of tasks undertaken. As these new strategies and the concept of flexible workspaces are gaining traction over traditional static workspaces. Increased interest around flexible workspaces led to the studies on various forms of it. Besides the expansion of flexible workspaces, the emergence of “coworking spaces” provide free lance and start-ups with a new model of workspace. Brad Neuberg and his friends opened the first coworking space in 2005 in San Francisco. The San Francisco Coworking Space at Spiral Muse, was opened as an attempt to counter the lack of productivity of working from home in an absence of business centre social interaction. (Yu et al., n.d.) Coworking spaces then rapidly increased leading upto 700 spaces worldwide in about a year after the first attempt. It then developed into a membership based module where workers could pay and get access to the services and facilities of the space. A steady increase in the number of these spaces led to a few companies like WeWork to maintain an international network of coworking spaces with 175,000 members in 2017.

Emergence of flexible workspaces With the emergence of smart cities, people are expected to be endowed with technology to do anything from anywhere at any time.This initiates opportunities for various flexible working models to rise in the urban setting. Popularity of the sharing culture in the city led to the sharing of resources, time, services, knowledge, and information within a region to accomplish a more sustainable and engaging lifestyle. Typical examples of this include car pooling, house exchange, childcare troops etc. In regard to sharing workplaces, “on demand workspaces” were rising for people who use spaces occasionally and the flexibility of these spaces much higher. (“How Coworking Spaces Can Impact the Real Estate Industry?”)Office clubs, digital working hubs, pro-working etc are some other types of flexible working models. Since the inauguration of the first coworking space in 2005, the growth of the spaces has been exponential. This space is not like any other shared space as it has developed alongside a coworking community with its own set of values evolved over time like sustainability, accessibility, collaboration, community, and openness. Presence of a community like this makes the existence of this space distinct from other shared spaces. In the process of this use of before creating an economy Sharing economy has been consumption. Workers of the a mini economy.

space, sharing and collaboration is happening like never of ‘What’s Mine is Yours’. (Botsman and Rogers, 2010) an established ideology which has led to collaborative community share tangible and less concrete resources in

The Coworking Culture Coworking spaces are shared workplaces utilised by different sorts of knowledge professionals, mostly freelancers, working in various degrees of specialisation in the vast domain of the knowledge industry. The presence of others—known as the “colleague effect”—has a positive effect on motivation and performance. (Rief et al., 2016) In such spaces, people work independently, together; with less hierarchy, workers are accountable for their own projects, progress, and working methods. Coworking was originally envisioned as a "third-way" of working, between well defined workplace and an independent work life. The core challenge though was to facilitate their users’ need for connected learning and networking opportunities to nourish creativity, inspiration and innovation. In a city of ever growing dreams and aspirations of freelancers and startups, the cost-push inflation is challenging their growth and

sustainability. By creating a community where coworking culture enables them to make a mark in the competitive society dominated by big and established players. Although the Sharing Economy has helped previously powerless individuals take more control of their lives by becoming micro-entrepreneurs, it has contributed to commercial gentrification also. A proliferation of coworking initiatives and ventures can be currently witnessed in different cities worldwide, for a somewhat self-proclaimed ‘coworking movement’ that now aligns with other similar ‘trendy’ concepts which flourished in the post-crisis economy, such as ‘startups’, ‘social innovation’ or ‘sharing economy’ (Botsman and Rogers, 2010).

Scope While previous studies have examined the phenomenon of coworking and the experiences and motivations of those undertaking this activity, there has been little attention given to the darkside of coworking spaces. This research examines how collaboration has been reduced to a marketing pitch and is now just another money making, cost cutting and efficiency model for owner-operators and established companies respectively.

Methods, Data and Findings This section will explain the various data collection methods that were undertaken for the course of the study, along with the objective, data set, participant profiles and key findings. Pilot Survey A random sample space of 237 participants were surveyed for the following: Living, food, travel, work and shopping. Most of the participants ( 69% of the total) belonged to the age group of 18-30 age group. Almost half the participants are engaged in formal set-up but flexible set-up and coworking spaces follow the order. On the basis of close reading of scholarly articles and discussions with the guide, four typologies were devised for the purpose of pilot survey. These four typologies are descriptive of the various levels of overlap of temporality with the formal and informal sector. Based on these, five questions were structured that were aimed to establish the emergence of temporality in the formal sector. The four typologies are explained as: a. Permanent Formal - It refers to a designated physical space which is fixed. It is rigid in nature. b. Temporal Formal - It refers to a temporary act or flexible use in a permanent space. It is semi-rigid in nature. c. Informal Formal -It refers to a shift or blurring of boundaries due to communication infrastructure.It is flexible in nature with a certain degree of system. d. Temporal Informal - It refers to embedded temporality and is a result of accidental and unplanned encounters, or those that have long been established as social conventions.It is flexible in nature with no system or order. Key Findings: 1. Most of the participants still prefer the formal setup i.e. hotels but a gradual shift can be noticed towards the temporal (STRs) and informal ( Youth hostels) setup. 2. More than fifty percent of the participants use digital platforms to order food. This is the area where the maximum shift to the temporal formal can be witnessed. 3. Around 43% use public transportation and 30% are still commute by personal cabs. Even though the temporal formal setup is up and coming, the public transport system is very well established and thus the shift might be difficult. 4. Shopping is the only area where both formal formal and temporal formal spaces are at par. Both of these setups are coexisting and rather forming a symbiotic relationship wherein one is helping the other one grows.

General inferences: Changing views about work and life We are heavily dependant on the internet for our basic needs now. The communication infrastructure is taking precedence over physical infrastructure. Temporality is getting manifested in the formal sector through the means of shared economy and people seem to prefer this way of life.

Questionnaire on Flexibility in the Workspace On the same 237 participants, survey was conducted via online medium to understand their work conduct and preferences. Key Findings: 1. Most participants are highly dependant on the internet for work. 2. About 59.1% of the participants work round the clock - which reinforces the time-independency of work culture 3. About 41.7% of the participants often feel stressed due to the hectic and

time-independent nature of their work. 4. 46.4 percent participants work on the go at least once a month and some - once a week. 5. Coworking set-ups and Permanent spaces are the most preferred options in preference of place of work General Inferences: The survey establishes that most individuals cannot work without internet, thus virtually you’re always connected. This gives rise to concerns like - technostress and psychological strain. Also, technology now enables work on the transit. The whole city is now your workplace which gives rise to the need for a new kind of infrastructure. Flexibility in workspace is thus, proliferating.

Questionnaire on Coworking Setup Out of 237 participants surveyed earlier, a total of 65 participants were found to have worked in a coworking setup and thus were interviewed for their experience. Following were the participant profiles.

Key Findings: 1. 70% of the participants started with permanent offices and later shifted to coworking to setups. 2. 60% people have observed positive changes in their productivity levels 3. There is a divided opinion over wanting to go back to a permanent office space with 33.8% sure of getting back to the permanent office setup and 37.5% unsure of where they want to continue. 4. The major reasons observed for people making the shift to coworking setup areflexibility, social interaction, and professional requirements. General Inferences: Coworking culture is a very prevalent idea with today’s youth. Although, most people think it’s a positive environment because of reasons like flexibility, convenience, and better amenities, there was also a significant amount of people who want to discontinue which throws light on the drawbacks of collaborative work environment.

Interviews - Coworking Owner-Operators and Coworkers Semi-structured interviews were conducted by visiting various coworking sites in Connaught Place and Nehru place in order to better understand the various aspects related to coworking, the positives and negatives. A total of 6 owner/ operators and 10 Coworkers were interviewed. The age of the participants varies from 23- 64. The below mentioned sites were visited to conduct the interviews: a. Coworking offices 1. Innov8 Coworking, CP 2. Sharedesk, Nehru Place 3. 91 Springboard, Nehru Place 4. CoworkIn, Nehru Place b. Coworking cafes 1. Rodeo: Cantina and Kitchen, CP 2. FLYP cafe, CP 3. Pebble Street, CP 4. Social, CP & Nehru Place

Participant profiles (Coworkers) A summary of the coworker participants included in this study is provided below in Table 1. The demographics tended to be heavily skewed to a relatively younger worker, which is consistent with the impression of coworking spaces as hubs of relatively younger and like-minded workers. Table 1 CW

Gender

Age

Detailed Description

Employment Status

CW1

Male

Working with Jio

Self-Employed

CW2

Female

Software Developer

Self-Employed

CW3

Male

Late 20’s

Digital Marketing

Self-Employed

CW4

Male

E-Commerce (Frankly Wearing)

Self-Employed

CW5

Male

Freelancer

Self-Employed

CW6

Male

Currently Unemployed

Unemployed

CW7

Male

App Developer

Self-Employed

CW8

Male

American Equity Investor

Working

CW9

Male

Stock market investor

Self-Employed

CW10

Female

Kaarwan (Education and travels)

Self-Employed

Participant profiles (Owner-operators) A summary of the coworking owners/ operators included in this study is provided below in Table 2. Few of the observations made by interviewers on site were: 1. For working spaces linked to myHQ, the renovations, management and providing facilities like wifi, printers, stationery, etc. is done by myHQ and not the owners. 2. It was observed that coworking cafes in CP observed reduced usage during festivities. 3. Coworking cafe has exclusive areas for coworking but the workspace is only to supplement their businesses and not the main business.

Table 2 CO

Gender

Detailed Description

Designation

CO1

Male

Rodeo: Cantina and Kitchen, Connaught Place

Manager

CO2

Female

91Springboard, Nehru Place

Senior hub manager

CO3

Male

Innov8

Design Head/ Cofounder

CO4

Male

Innov8

Manager

CO5

Male

CoworkIn

Owner/ Manager

CO6

Female

Social

Cultural Manager

The data collected from the interviews and surveys have been analysed in conjunction with the literature read on the topic. The various observations obtained from primary data have been correlated with the published works to critically establish the situation of the coworking setup, its direct and indirect impacts on the users and the city level, using thematic analysis.

Analysis The coworking culture has been led by the impact of the sharing economy on traditional workplaces. Digital advancements and dependency on communication infrastructure has reinforced the decentralisation of the fixed desk systems. However, what dictates the success of coworking spaces in India is predominantly the cost, infrastructure and networking opportunities. Furthermore, it is the associated flexibility and agility that attracts so many to coworking. Yet, as much as the coworking model might seem like a game-changer, it poses fundamental questions to the experience, security, satisfaction, and sustenance of the creative class in the digital economy.

Productivity v/s Disorder Coworking spaces enable individuals, freelancers, small startups, etc. to collaborate and form new relationships between seemingly unrelated concepts and provide an alternate perspective to problems. This freeflow of ideas is believed to increase the productivity levels of individuals compared to those working in traditional office spaces. The idea behind this is to promote/ develop a community setup where one can learn from the other; the nascent players learn from the already established players. As stated by the Design Head of Innov8, Regal Cinema, Connaught Place: “The whole idea of a coworking space is to make sure that the offices don’t look conventional. The conventional office spaces are very boring and very blank so comes the idea of coworking space which are funky, have green interiors and warm lightings which are actually productive. The intention is to make an office space which feels like home and increases the productivity at a much cheaper rate. So, we don’t use white lights or LED lights, we go for warm white lights. We have a lot of greenery and and … So, the whole idea was to make it funky and motivating.” How does one know they’re being productive? It’s simple, you’re earning more when you’re being productive. Coworking drives efficiencies because it’s making use of multiple vacant spaces, managing the admin issues and allowing the people to professionally collaborate. It also enables for teams to work remotely and manage mobile employees. This helps in flourishing the productivity levels of coworkers as interviewee CW 1 comments:

My Director had asked me to use coworking because even though I’m employed in an MNC, I manage a team of field boys. They work here in Central Delhi and our head office is in Gurugram so coworking is a very efficient way as I’m able to work and manage my team on-site.

We found that organisations like Innov8 and CoworkIn also organise special community events such as founders meet, competitions, and community activities to promote interactions and collaborations, thus leading to an increase in the level of productivity of the users. Our findings yield that 60% of users of coworking spaces feel a rise in levels of their productivity. However, we also found that the workspace layout in the coworking offices eliminates the sense of privacy which the traditional office space provided. There is no clear demarcation of personal workspace and because of its open layout, it leads to distraction and consequently leads to loss of concentration. (Bouncken et al., 2018) The users are prone to chatting, taking frequent breaks and using office hours to engage in activities like playing and reading. One of our interviewees, an IT startup founder and software developer CW2 mentions: Earlier I was working in 91springboard facility, but soon I shifted to Sharedesk because I found the earlier to be too distracting. I pay my employees by the hour and if they use those to play and get distracted, it’s loss of revenue for me. Another interviewee, a design startup founder CW 4 comments on the distractions caused by variety of noises in the background, like music in this case: It basically depends on the kind of work you are doing. When he (pointing at one of the founders) is in his coding zone it doesn't matter what is happening around him. But when I am attending phone calls, it pisses me off and I have to go out. But when (FLYP Cafe) have a party or something planned, they issue a warning, that you can go to some other place. There thus exists the quandary of the inconsistent office culture. A coworking space is often composed of individuals representing diverse organisations, resulting in limited ability to shape or change office culture to reflect an organisation’s unique values.

Collaboration v/s Competition One of the key core values of the coworking culture is providing a foundation for collaboration. Coworking aims to create a strong sense of community and foster synergies amongst the users. Also, having connections to build and communicating with like-minded people proves not only opportunistic in terms of their business, it propagates bonding amongst the coworkers, thus building up to a healthy work environment. This bond goes beyond just between two coworkers. WeWork emphasises how it “seeks to create a place you join as an individual, ‘me’, but where you become part of a greater ‘we.'” (Spreitzer et al., 2015) The owner-operators, as well as the staff, develop connections with their users thus bringing business to them or are targeted to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction. Owing to this concept, some of the coworking owners have thus gone to great lengths to cultivate a unique experience for each user. The interviewee CW 8 expressed his positive experience with the collaboration community and is quoted as below. I mostly come to Coworking cafes for the change of environment as being in the same office gets boring. I keep shifting to different cafes around the city. One of the things that I absolutely love about the coworking culture is getting to talk to people from different walks of life. You get to meet people you don’t know. Some contacts have benefitted me professionally while others have become great friends along the way. Coworking also eliminates the traditional hierarchy setups because in most cases there are no direct employers and even in cases where there is a hierarchy within the teams, the flexible desk system ends up eliminating it from a physical form. However, not always this collaboration might prove to be a benefactor. At times, the coworkers are pitted against each other when they happen to be in the same line of work. While workers within similar and complementary professions collaborate better, those in the same professions end up being part of a competition. Our spokesperson, manager of 91springboard, Nehru Place described Our user base is very diverse, with no particular professions targeted but there is a natural inclination towards technical fields...When the hub started there were few IT businesses here and we could generate some business for them as well but slowly many startups came to us and it gets difficult to be able to generate business for all of them.

Intellectual Property Rights and Physical Security concerns The bright side of coworking almost outshines the serious predicaments of data privacy and security of the coworkers. Although security breaches are possible in any office environment, they carry greater risk in an environment where individuals do not share the same employer and may not even know each other. (“Corporate Real Estate Journal,” 2016) These could happen in the form of physical security breaches, intellectual property theft and in the worst case, data server hacking. In a formal setup, an established employer takes care of the server security but independent workers and startups are rendered vulnerable in a coworking setup, especially in Delhi where most of the owner-operators have limited themselves to just providing WiFi. Although personal information is protected under the privacy policies of the coworking companies, they take little or no responsibility of the user’s data security within their coworking space. There is a lack of common technological considerations such as access to individual bandwidths, remote cyber security solutions, and cloud storage. The collaboration of entrepreneurs in joint projects builds on common targets and values. These values include information sharing, mutual learning, cooperation and trust. Designed as ‘open office spaces’, coworking system exposes entrepreneurs to the risks of an external environment, especially in cases of flexible and open desk system. These risks include overhearing of conversations or manual access to your device. Coworking-spaces try to compensate this disadvantage by offering limited private spaces like traditional offices but even when working in private offices, coworkers share places like a kitchen or conference rooms, making it difficult to protect knowledge and secrets. Therefore, coworkers, especially those in creative industries are at risk of intellectual property theft and imitation by competitors. (Bouncken et al., 2018) It is thus evident that such SMEs lack means of risk assessment and loss prevention. With the transparency and openness that characterise coworking environments, businesses, freelancers and startups must be extra diligent at protecting their competitive assets, including intellectual property and confidential or sensitive information.

Mobilisation v/s Job Precarity Escaping the precarity trap – precarity meaning existence without security – typical of much cultural work requires a rehabilitated notion of ‘flexicurity’ that includes

exceptionalist, sub-sectoral, sectoral and generalist strategies to support cultural workers. As established in the research, coworking is a more semi-formal or informal workspace and is still an upcoming venture. Thus, there is a strong lag in the laws and regulations that are implemented in these spaces. This creates precarious employment patterns, where the employee enjoys very little or no job security. The concept of collaborative workforce adds on to this informality and can also be criticized as a loophole because even though both parties exploits the creative knowledge of the other, there is a sense of hierarchy established and the pseudo-employe does not enjoy any benefits (including health benefits, paid vacations etc.) that may be a part of the full-time employment benefits. Also, most of the freelancers get work on the basis of verbal contracts which opens them to exploitation by the client, market and competitors. Though the negative impacts of the lack of the written law outweigh the positives, one very strong pursuit is that there is no employment criteria like age or educational qualifications restricting people from working in such spaces. There is a higher demographic coverage where workers who are ending their traditional careers, are laid-off or post-retirement find a way of networking and staying in the loop of their professional circles. People like mothers who decide to restart their career and college dropouts also find an inlet for networking and establishing their identity in the professional realm. An interviewee, CW 9, added on with his experience, After working at a 9 to 5 banking job for 20 years, I wanted to shift out of the corporate culture and start my own work. After retirement coworking really helped me to establish my own workspace with my own timings and comforts… yes, it definitely affects my productivity levels, but not in the competitive sense. No more cluttering on desk, no more pressure. There is a fast growing ‘cultural knowledge community’ that mainly involves the new generation that values flexibility in workspace but not as many job opportunities for them exist. Increasingly, contract and temporary workers are excluded from ‘the office’ in the traditional sense. Left to their own devices, these workers provide their own work environment – whether it is working from home, working from a coffee shop, or, working in a non-traditional shared office space. So, even though independent workspace attracts them, a major reason to shift to a precarious employment module is due to the lack of job opportunities and ever increasing competition in the industry.

The Creative Class and the Permanent Office Setup The creative class in today’s world is banking on the fact that temporality is an inherent quality of the workplace. The workplace is decentralised to the extent that you can just unplug your laptop, could even take a flight and be in another country, and when you connect to the internet again - you’re in network and working again. What enables this more is the fact that now, resources like coworking are present across all major cities. Coworking thus manages this chaos and temporal nature of work efficiently. This flexibility allows people to be on the move while the ideas flow freely and the sharing workspace culture booms. However, too much autonomy can actually cripple productivity because people lack routines. Coworkers reported that having a community to work in helps them create structures and discipline that motivates them. Thus, paradoxically, some limited form of structure enables an optimal degree of control for independent workers. (Spreitzer et al., 2015) It also can be more difficult to maintain a common team spirit when employees are working at different locations with distinct atmospheres. This is what the design startup founder, Interviewee CW 4 had to say: Initially we experimented a lot but after a point you tend to settle, because you need a routine. That is when we choose and fixed on FLYP Cafe. Yes, definitely we would want a permanent office in a few years. Right now we have a warehouse, but it gets a little cumbersome to manage the administration office and warehouse from two separate locations. A few years down the line we would want a combined space for ease in working. Sometimes, flexibility is desired by people but they also want the rigidity of the permanent office setup. Our survey results yield that 33.8 percent of the coworkers definitely say they want to shift back to permanent office setup while 37.5 percent say maybe. We observed that eventually, at some point of time a lot of coworkers envision themselves as settling down for a permanent space, as they expand their workforce and become profitable. Interviewee CW 6 mentions: I don’t mind working in an office, but would definitely love to have some form of flexibility. But I think, I do prefer a time boundation like in a permanent office because it’s more disciplined.

Financial feasibility for the Coworkers With the coworking trend slowly taking over the city of Delhi, there has been an emergence of cheap and affordable workspaces for freelancers and startups alike. The coworking spaces have become a boon for these small players because of its cheap and affordable pricing. As interviewee CW 8 states: I had rented an office with my cousin in Rajendra Place but soon the rent grew out of our pockets. We were running 2 businesses in 1 small place so we could save costs. So soon after I shifted to coworking cafes because it is way cheaper. Also, the maintenance and services of the space is managed by the coworking admin and the user base only has to pay for the services they are availing. In short, the cost and responsibility of maintenance is not the headache of the user. As interviewee CW2 says: I had started off in a rented office in Nehru Place… The reason I shifted to a coworking place was because the rent was too expensive and I figured that I can cut all the managerial costs. Now, with Sharedesk I don’t have to worry about lifts not working or wi-fi issues as all the administrative issues are managed for me by someone else at a nominal cost. Freelancers and small enterprises majorly rely on the coworking culture because these businesses come mostly from the creative sector and thus face inherent precarity in the market. There is a lack of capital, lack of financial resources and high rental costs on existing office spaces that makes the coworking a lucrative solution. The coworking culture eliminates the need for investment, like in real estate. This is what interviewee CW 4 had to say about opting for a coworking space: Initially my HQ’s flexible plans attracted us. Whenever you go, that's the only day you pay for. Also because it is available across Delhi, so you can use it anywhere. Also another factor is that whatever you pay here is reedeamable in food…We wanted to experiment first and not spend too much. Most of the users fall for the marketing pitch that coworking helps form a collaborative workspace which enables them to increase efficiency and production but some regard collaboration as a waste of time and manpower and consider the reduced monitory and administration responsibility as the only benefit. In an interview with the CEO of an App Developing Company (CW 7), he pondered - “We have been shuffling for 3 years now.

Anyone who would have us, coworking offices, shared spaces or even a friend's basement. I just don't want the administration headaches, like there is no water running or yeh WiFi is down.” When asked about his opinion on coworking cafes, he outrightly rejected the idea of collaboration, saying, “...It's a waste of time. Here also I have rented a cabin where my entire team works. In hotdesking and cafes people end up wasting too much time. ”

Feasibility of the Coworking business model in Delhi The main question that arises at this stage is, how is the coworking model sustaining itself in Delhi? The answer is simple, it is all about the money. Pranay Gupta,Co-founder of 91 Springboard said, It’s tough to say when we actually broke even with our Delhi and Gurgaon hub as breakeven in a moving bar. We didn’t take salary during our first hub, so that way we broke even very early. Then we hired some more team and invested some more amount so the break even moved to eight months and then to 13 months. For Gurgaon hub, first break-even was in six months and then in 12 months. We started a small Hyderabad hub, that was fully occupied with 40 coworkers, and it soon became profitable until we shifted to another building recently in mid July this year, which we furnished at our own expense with a bigger setup, so now again that space is not profitable. We assume average break-even for us happens anywhere from six to 12 months normally. The coworking model is gaining popularity in the commercial sector because of its high profit margins. They earn the majority of their revenue, unsurprisingly, by renting out desks (61%). One in ten spaces earn all of their money from desk rental. The average space earns ten percent of their revenue from renting out meeting rooms and event spaces (10% each). Food and beverages bring in 5%, and the sale of tickets to workshops and events earns another 5%. Unlike business centers, coworking spaces live on a very small portion from virtual office services (3%). (Foertsch, 2011) Between 2012 and 2013 the number of coworking centres worldwide increased by more than 80 per cent, while the number of people using coworking centres more than doubled during this time. (Foertsch, 2013, p. 5) Thus, the rate of growth of these coworking spaces is keeping up with their demand. At present, approximately 40-45% of the business opportunity in coworking sector lies with mainstream corporate firms/large enterprises seeking alternative, activity-based

workplaces to nurture their talent and enhance their business growth. The small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) along with individual professionals, together contribute to another 35-40% of the demand for coworking space, followed by start-ups (15-25%) who form the third demand group. (Emerging trends in India’s office sector, 2018) Even though, the coworking model was started keeping in mind the SMEs and freelance workers, today the main demand groups are mainstream corporate firms or large enterprises which helps them sustain their coworking setups. As mentioned by Hub Manager, Innov8, CP : Out of our 180 seats, 77 have been rented by a single company. The majority of the other seats are basically cabins of various occupancies ranging from 4 or more. The freelancer desks are very less, around 8-10. During our interview with the Cultural manager of Social Work, we discovered that business models like theirs are not majorly focused on making profits as the main business is their cafe but they aim to create a brand value and customer base instead. Established companies do use Social Work but they eventually move out because they need larger permanent spaces. But there has been an increase in the number of big companies that have been using the space. Currently about 15% of the space is used by established companies...It doesn't add as much profits as much it adds to the brand value. Coworking space becomes like an incubation space as all kinds of people come to work.

Why do big companies target coworking spaces? The freelancers and startups prefer coworking majorly because of the financial benefits associated with it and attributes like networking, collaboration and absence of the need for investment. But such lucrative services not just attract the startups but also the potential MNC’s, mainstream corporates and large industries into the picture. These companies are always looking for ways to hedge their risks and coworking provides them with an ideal modus operandi. The bigger companies, MNCs, etc which own a permanent office space, have to look after the maintenance, service cost and high rents, by themselves and as a result a part of their revenue deals with it. But in coworking offices they are free from such hassel, thus cutting their maintenance and service costs. For large corporates, a coworking

space is likely to lead to cost savings in the range of 20-25% when compared with leasing a traditional office space. (Emerging trends in India’s office sector, 2018) Coworking strategies can lower a company’s real estate investment costs and provide greater flexibility in procuring and managing space. For businesses seeking to quickly enter new geographic markets, coworking also provides a more efficient alternative to planning, designing, constructing and relocating to a new permanent office space. (Spreitzer et al., 2015) The financial markets fluctuate often, and companies opt to downsize and expand at very rapid rates which leads to companies creating a large percentage of highly mobile employees as a business strategy. Here, coworking proves to be a very cost-efficient solution. Also, there are times when the MNCs or other big offices hire employees on a temporary basis, more like on contractual basis. In such cases, due to lack of workspace in their own office, they tend to lease out office spaces from coworking offices. In such situations, the coworking offices mobilise their office layout such that a particular zone is designated to such MNCs and Offices. These zones are exclusive and access is reserved. Thus, there exists a multitude of dynamic workforce which assumes different work patterns and coworking is better able to absorb all of them. However, this means that when the big companies start renting out coworking spaces, it opens the floodgates to increased profit margins for operators as more seats are occupied for larger periods of time. This pushes out freelancers and small startups because they are left with little or no room. During our case study to Innov8, CP we found that a company Gyanwave IT, had occupied about half of the seats in the office. This was the flexible desk seating area which was cordoned off for the company and the freelancers were made to sit in the canteen table areas or in nooks and corners of the space. The majority of workspace gets eaten up by the big players, and the small players have to suffer because of it - physically and sometimes monetary wise as well. Also, the increasing demand by the big companies prompt the owners to expand. This pushes prices in the commercial real estate sector which are already uphill. For the offices, the rents or cost of buying a new space increases, input cost of the firm goes up and this hits their productivity. Thus, companies turn more towards coworking laying the foundation for gentrification.

Questioning sustainability - The dilemma of Commercial Gentrification The journey of a coworking space begins with establishing and encouraging startups and freelancing culture as a manifestation of the sharing economy. But as any normal business, the coworking establishment prioritizes its sustenance and often loses its initial vision in order to cater to the investors and big companies, and gradually shifts to the luxury end of the coworking business to lure in more audience and proliferate profit margins, hence wanting to undergo massive expansions. The mainstream corporates act as one of the prominent demand drivers for flexible coworking space. Cutting real estate cost saves money for the big company but occupies the shared resources which are meant to be used by the group of population with the lack of capital. Eventually, the coworking spaces is no longer priced or physically available for the small and medium enterprises or freelancers. As stated by the Design Head of Innov8, Connaught Place: 95% of our business is small and medium enterprises. Apart from that, we have freelancers but these are a very few chunks...Initially there were a lot of startups and freelancers. Now the shift is to make bigger office cabins and increase their number as well. In the past, we have witnessed big players in sharing economy disrupting markets by diminishing opportunities for less advantaged sector of the population in the industry. Similar cases can be seen in the coworking spaces such as Innov8 and 91Springboard. These also pose a threat to existing office sector by absorbing customers and employees and competitively leasing out available buildings. Shared work spaces could potentially contribute to the gentrification of older neighbourhoods by pushing up the price of real estate, and displacing established small businesses and residential tenants. Thus, the existing resources that were meant to be shared, are ironically causing addition instead.

Conclusion Temporality is the elementary characteristic of the coworking culture. People are able to meet and work anywhere and change workplaces at their whims because there is no investment involved and the nature of doing work itself is temporary. Flexibility and collaboration are important attributes of the present day workplace but it is the ephemerality that makes the coworking culture a game changer. However, temporality induces informality in the formal sector because it eliminates possession and liability of long term assets and mitigates risks associated with starting new businesses. Coworking is hence a way of handling chaos and uncertainty and driving efficiencies. The coworking culture uses it’s marketing pitch to attract workers which remodels the city as an innovators hub. The flexible working model, especially the coworking culture has collapsed boundaries between the physical spaces as communication infrastructure revolutionises our priorities and the way we work. The coworking model is marketed portraying its noble intentions and the flexibility culture is perceived to be romantically attractive but what one fails to comprehend are the threats it poses to the security, satisfaction and opportunities of the coworker. Owing to the concept of shared resources, one can share an already existing resource and earn off it. But eventually, humans are greedy and profit margins drive people to own more resources and deploy them in the economy inflating the resource stock rather than utilising the existing one. Similarly, the coworking owner-operators are banking on the opportunity of the demand created by the larger corporates and the culture itself becomes a profit-driven business. This contributes to the indirect commercial gentrification. A vicious cycle gets set up where in the corporates cut their maintenance and real estate costs by shifting to coworking and the owners respond to this demand by increasing the asset stock exponentially. Eventually, gentrification and increasing resources bump up the price of commercial real estate, which grows unaffordable for the commonalty. The research dwells on the repercussions of the proliferating ephemerality in the workspace culture implying that temporality is in fact now the new permanence. However, coworking business is itself an investment and gentrification is bound to happen. There is overburdening of resources which causes inflation and such a scale of disruption questions the core values of shared economy and presents it as a failed model in today's world. Conclusively, it forces us to reflect on whether “the city will eventually outprice itself?”

Limitations It is important to note the ethical conundrums associated with this recruitment process. Since participants largely volunteered or were encouraged to volunteer by colleagues, they are a less representative sample than if they had been randomly selected. Most of the study participants were very enthusiastic about, and supportive of, the coworking industry. In other words, participants were largely those with a vested interest in explaining and illustrating the benefits of coworking. This should be considered as the results of the study are reviewed. The survey was conducted online, where the observant was not present while the participant was filling the questionnaire that he/she received. Thus, one cannot be sure of the external environmental factors like noise, crowd and/or pollution directly or indirectly affecting their responses. Since, the maximum number of questionnaires were filled by students, in the age bracket of 18-25 years, the answers may be skewed a bit in their favour and may not reflect the most reliable data. This is not intended to be a rigorous evaluative project. Instead, it is exploratory in nature, laying the groundwork for future research. As Neuman (2006) suggests of exploratory research "the researcher's goal is to formulate more precise questions that future research can answer" (p. 33). Within the constraints of a limited timeline, this project attempts to explore the challenges posed in the physical space by the need for flexibility and nature of coworking in Delhi.

Acknowledgements This research was supported/partially supported by School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. We thank our colleagues who provided insight and expertise that greatly assisted the research, although they may not agree with all of the interpretations/conclusions of this paper. We thank Ar. Rahoul Singh, for assistance with the research paper and analysis, and Prof. Dr. Leon A. Morenas, Professor, School of Planning and Architecture for comments that greatly improved the manuscript. We would also like to show our gratitude to all the interviewees for sharing their experiences with us during the course of this research, and we thank all the participants in this research, your enthusiasm for coworking was both refreshing and infectious.

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List of tables and figures a. Tables 1. Table 1- Participant Profiles of Coworkers 2. Table 2 - Participant Profiles of Owner-Operators b. Figures 1. Figure 1- What of the following types of workspace do you currently use? 2. Figure 2- When travelling what kind of accommodation are most likely to choose? 3. Figure 3- What is your most likely go to place when hungry, assuming you live alone? 4. Figure 4- How do you comment through the city? 5. Figure 5- Which of the following place are you most likely shop from? 6. Figure 6- How dependent are you on internet (communication technology) for your work? 7. Figure 7- Do you work round the clock due to access to internet? 8. Figure 8- Do you feel stressed because of the hectic and time-independent nature of your work? 9. Figure 9- Does your field of work require collaboration? In other words, do you work alone or with a dedicated team? 10. Figure 10- Count of Age 11. Figure 11- Count of occupation 12. Figure 12- Have you worked in permanent office setup before? 13. Figure 13- Why did you shift to coworking space? 14. Figure 14- Is there a change in your productivity levels? 15. Figure 15- Do you think you will want to go back to permanent office setup?

Appendix (List of questions) Control variables Age, gender, education, and occupational setup (Student/ freelancer/ Self-employed professional/ Start-up/ Corporate Job/ Business/ Entrepreneur) Pilot survey 1. a) b) c) d) e)

Which of the following type of workspace do you currently use? A formal Space - fixed desk/ a cubical / computer lab/ classroom A designated permanent space but with flexible choice of seating (hot desking) Co working offices and Cafes Work from home Other

2. a) b) c) d) e) 3. a) b) c) d) e)

When traveling, what kind of accommodation are most likely to choose? Hotels Youth hostels/ Dormitories Short term rentals - OYO, Airbnb Dharamshala/ Staying with the locals Other What is your most likely go to place when hungry, assuming you live alone? Go to the kitchen and cook yourself Go out to a new restaurant Order in through Digital Platforms - Zomato, Swiggy, Uber Eats Raid a friend's refrigerator Other

4. a) b) c) d) e)

How do you commute through the city? Personal Cars/bike Public Transport - Metro, DTC Buses Cabs - Uber, Ola etc Auto, E-rickshaws Other

5. Which of the following places are you most likely shop from? a) Shopping Malls

b) c) d) e)

Established Street Markets - Janpath, Gk market Online Shopping - Amazon, Myntra etc. Street Vendors/ Local Weekly Markets Other

Flexibility in the workspace 1) a) b) c) 2) a) b) 3) a) b) c) d) 4) a) b) c) d)

How dependent are you on internet (communication technology) for your work? Use it all the time Use it sometimes Hardly ever use it Do you work round the clock due to access to internet? Yes No If yes, do you feel stressed because of the hectic and time-independent nature of your work? Always Often Sometimes Never How often do you work while commuting? Daily Once or twice a week Once or twice a month Never

5) a) b) c) d) e)

If you could work anywhere, where would you go? Permanent/ Formal Office Coworking Office setup Cafe/Restaurant Home Other, please specify

6) Does your field of work require collaboration? In other words, do you work alone or with a dedicated team? a) Alone b) Team c) Sometimes Both 7) Does your field of work require collaboration? In other words, do you work alone or with a dedicated team? a) Yes b) No Coworking Culture Experience 1. Have you worked in a permanent office setup before? a) Yes b) No 2. Why did you shift to coworking space? - Your Answer 3. What do you prefer? a) Permanent Office Space b) Coworking Space 4. a) b) c)

Is there a change in your productivity levels? Yes No Maybe

5. a) b) c)

Do you think you will want to go back to permanent office spaces in sometime? Yes No Maybe

If No, Would you prefer to move on to a coworking space? a) Yes, I would like to try b) No

Interviews- coworking spaces owner-operators 1) Why did you choose to open a coworking space? How long has your coworking site been in operation? 2) What factors were critical to you in selecting the site? 3) Is your space owned or leased?How much renovation of the space was required?What key elements were included as part of the renovation? 4) What amenities do you offer to customers? 5) What are your hours and how did you determine them? 6) What all is considered while setting up the service prices? 7) How do you divide up the space? 8) How does the staffing of this space work? Maintenance? 9) What is the cost of maintaining such a space? Is it possible to own such a place in the long run? 10)How do you market your business? 11)Who is your target customer? 12)Is your space designed according to a particular target group? 13)How much do membership fluctuate (monthly, seasonally, annually)? 14)What are your usual feedback? 15)If there were to be some sort of assistance to coworking or coworking sites from a public policy perspective, what would it be (specifically at the local or regional level)? 16)What would have been helpful to you in opening the coworking site? 17)Has the rent increased since you started? If yes how has that affected what you charge the users? Interviews- Coworking spaces users Nature of Employment 1. What sector do you work in? How long have you worked in this sector? 2. Are you self-employed? 3. Does your employment directly require you to be in the city? 4. Would a lack of coworking sites discourage you from living in a specific city? Similarly, would an availability of coworking sites attract you to a particular city? 5. Why did you choose to use a coworking site for your work? 6. How long have you been a member of this coworking site? 7. Do you supplement the use of your coworking site with other places for employment purposes (i.e. home office, coffee shops, libraries or other

facilities)? If so, what are the benefits or disadvantages of the coworking site over these other options? 8. How has the use of a coworking changed your work week, if at all? Do you work more, less or about the same hours each week? How much of that time is spent in the coworking space? 9. How collaborative is your experience using the site? Do you wish it were more or less collaborative? 10. Is coworking competitive in terms of environment? Commuting Patterns 1. How do you normally travel to your coworking site? 2. How long does it typically take you to travel to the site? 3. What is the maximum amount of time you would be willing to travel to reach a coworking site? Coworking Site – Physical & Social Infrastructure 1. Why did you choose this specific site? What factors influence how successfully this coworking space works for you?