Happy Coworking Day!

9 August is International Coworking Day. Yes, really! Coworking as a movement began in the USA exactly 14 years ago. You can view Brad Neuberg’s announcement of his very first coworking space here. The birth of this space is viewed by many as the birth of the coworking movement. The first space was somewhere for freelancers to work together and act as motivators, mentors and colleagues for each other. They had eight desks available.

In the last ten years, though, coworking has grown to become a huge phenomenon. It has evolved from a space where freelancers could work without being stuck in a coffee bar to become a multi-billion pound industry attracting businesses small and large. It’s estimated that there are currently well over 35,000 flexible workspaces worldwide and there will be a predicted 3.8 million coworking members by 2020. The world’s biggest operator, WeWork, is the biggest corporate occupier of office space in London after trading for fewer than ten years.

Why has there been such growth? Well, there are a few reasons; technological transformation, the change in how we want to work and a shift in how companies want to spend their money.

We all know that the traditional ideas of work are being constantly challenged by technological change. The idea that we need to be in a company office to work effectively is clearly no longer true. The new connected world has broken the chains that fixed us to the office desk.

The demand for a more flexible way to work has grown hugely over the last few years. Fewer of us are happy to be stuck at a desk in an office all day. We know different tasks need different spaces and we expect to be able to choose the best place to complete any given task.

Companies are seeing the benefit of coworking spaces in many ways, too. Not only does offering employees flexibility help them to recruit and retain the best people, but it actually saves them money as they are able to reduce the amount of office space they lease. In fact, traditional office leases in general may soon be a thing of the past as even big corporates see the advantages of moving into deals with coworking operators.

At OUTWORK, we’re proud to be part of this growing movement. Up to now, coworking has be a predominantly urban success story, but we believe that there is a growing demand for coworking communities to be established in rural areas, like Kent. You can keep up with our story on our website. In the meantime, though, Happy Coworking Day!