12 Benefits of Coworking Spaces That Beat Working From Home
Transitioning to a work-from-home professional culture was a challenge for many. Some employees enjoy working from home and find that they can be just as productive as they are working in an office space. But just as many others are feeling the burnout that comes from ambiguous work-life boundaries, too much screen time, or endless virtual meetings that depend on your home wifi.
For those of us that feel unmotivated, uninspired, or unheard when working from home, there’s some good news about the benefits of coworking. Coworking can improve your team’s problem solving, efficiency, and creativity. There are both pros and cons of working from home, so we’ll explore those and make our case for the benefits of collaborative workspaces.
What We Love About Working From Home
Working from home works well for many people. Recent research suggests that for most of us, we are about as productive at home as we are in the office. However, more of that productivity is in the form of communications unnecessarily drawn out over multiple mediums, redundancy in virtual meeting topics or topics that don’t include the whole team, and general breakdowns in communication. These challenges are to be expected in a newly secluded work environment that may not offer the amenities and collaborative culture that shared office spaces do.
Here are a few things to consider when deciding whether your work from home space is still working for you:
First, the benefits:
- More privacy and fewer unnecessary distractions, assuming you have greater control in your home environment
- More quiet time for deep work
- The ability to work in a way that is comfortable for you, based on individual needs and working styles
The cons of working from home:
- Added difficulties in communicating with your colleagues, supervisors, or clients
- More challenges to focusing on tasks
- Unreliable technology or resource access
- Less opportunity for collaboration and creativity
- Blurred boundaries between work and home life
If you’re the type of employee that prefers solitude, quiet, or the freedom to work while traveling, you might prefer working from home. But for many millions of employees, the benefits of coworking far outweigh the convenience of working from home.
12 Major Benefits of Coworking Spaces
Without further ado, here’s a list of our 12 favorite benefits of coworking that beat working from home:
- More Networking Opportunities
- Professional Development
- Project Collaboration
- Increased Productivity
- Creative Inspiration
- Better Team Building
- Better Communication
- Client-Friendly
- Scalable
- Opportunity to Break Out of Your Comfort Zone
- Better Work-Life Balance
- Encouraged Entrepreneurship
1. Better Networking
Nothing can replace the social and professional interactions of a collaborative workspace. Your colleagues, supervisors, and professional network help you build your professional network and explore more creative, collaborative, and beneficial business relationships .
2. Professional Development
There’s no better place to grow your professional skillset than in the company of your peers and mentors. Coworking makes learning lessons, trying new tools, and having constructive, real-time dialogue easy.
3. Project Collaboration
A challenge in a project is no match for a team willing to collaborate and problem solve. Project collaboration is a great way to incorporate diverse perspectives and consider a range of solutions with your team. The best collaboration happens in real time, in a coworking work environment.
4. Increased Productivity
Productivity is one of the most important aspects of choosing the right work environment. If you’re having trouble focusing, meeting deadlines, or understanding project scopes and milestones virtually, a coworking or shared office space might be the key to your productivity.
5. Creative Inspiration
Whether it’s the lighting, the ventilation, the space or the distractions within your environment, some people just don’t feel inspired to do their best work in a space not designed for it. Creative inspiration is abundant in inspired coworking office spaces, like these.
6. More Team Building
Collaboration, problem solving, and connecting through challenges builds a stronger team. Shared office spaces are best for nurturing your team’s growth and building the foundation for a strong work culture.
7. Better Communication
There’s something to be said about the connectivity we lost when we transitioned to a virtual workforce. Whether it’s the psychology of face-to-face interactions, the nuance of language, or the challenges of virtual delays, there’s no question that communication is most effective and easiest to do in an in-person work environment.
8. Client-Friendly
Building your network and trying to impress clients can be some of the unforeseeable problems with working from home. Coworking office space can be the perfect solution for creating a professional, accessible atmosphere for new and existing client meetings. Shared office spaces let your vendors, clients, and network know that you’re professional, ready to focus on potential challenges, and supported by like-minded people.
9. Scalable
Even if you’re comfortable with your current work-from-home environment, you may need more space, resources, or professional support when scaling your business or seeking that next big promotion. Collaborative, inspired work spaces give you room to grow and scale your business or reach for your next professional goal.
10. Break Out of Your Comfort Zone
For some, collaboration, team building, and professional development are great ways to break out of your comfort zone socially and professionally, in order to build confidence and competence in your role and beyond.
11. Better Work-Life Balance
So many of us have difficulty separating our work responsibilities from our personal life when working from home, like caregiving for family and pets, household chores, and errands that are staring us in the face while we work. The office environment can be the perfect solution to this for many employees.
12. Encourages Entrepreneurship
All of the professional development and collaboration with equally driven and like-minded folks creates the perfect environment for new ideas and big ambitions.If entrepreneurship is an eventual goal for you, collaborative cowork spaces and shared office spaces are much more nurturing environments than the desk in your living room.
What Are Working From Home Pros and Cons for Employers?
In addition to the above mentioned benefits of coworking spaces, which are constructive for both employees and the people who employ them, there are some added benefits for leaders and business owners.
While working from home might mean higher levels of productivity and better quality of life for some remote workers, employers can benefit from shared workspaces because they allow them to better understand the individual needs, aptitudes, and interests of the team. Social interaction helps build understanding among the members of the team.
Employers can always benefit from the advantages of in-person communication, which can increase productivity and efficiency, as well as interpersonal relationships. Generally speaking, if the team member prefers a traditional office environment, employers are likely to benefit from providing that to them.
Coworking Space and Office Sharing Near Me
Whether you’re looking for a meeting room or shared workspace for your team, or ready for the private office space that matches your professional ambitions, Office Evolution of Clark, NJ is centrally located and has what you’re looking for. Enjoy an inspired, collaborative work environment with all the amenities you need to be productive. Find out more about our office spaces and meeting rooms here or contact us today.