In the post-pandemic era, we have been observing a lot of changes in every aspect of life in the world—in the way people live, in the way people work, in the way people go about their lives. In the realm of working, we are observing an increasing trend in the existence of coworking spaces and virtual offices across the globe. With the huge shift from physical, respective traditional workspaces to coworking spaces and virtual offices, we can point out a lot of benefits as well as drawbacks.
Benefits of coworking spaces
- Cost-effective: It is cost-effective because a lot of the matters of cost-association are taken care of by only renting out the space that is required. It avoids worry about maintenance costs, utility bills, or other overhead expenses.
- Networking opportunities: Sharing a space with employees from other organisations means that there are definitely more networking patterns. This could lead to a host of opportunities for collaborations, potential entrepreneurial opportunities, business opportunities and partnerships.
You might also be interested to read: Hybrid HR – Blending Common Resource Pool And Unique Skill Set
- Space flexibility: According to the necessity of the size of the workforce, the organisation can either expand space or downsize as and when required. It is especially beneficial to smaller organisations as well as startup companies because they can adjust and pay for just the space they require instead of incurring extra costs.
- Amenities and facilities: These factors are important as coworking spaces come with conference rooms, tea/coffee and snacks sections, printing devices, air-conditioning, etc as a package for renting out the coworking space.
- Improved productivity: There is improved productivity owing to the presence of other professionals which help everyone stay focussed and in turn increase productivity through a sense of shared community.
- Reduced commute time: The extra time required for all professionals to go to office and back is stressful as it adds up to a large chunk of time unnecessarily. Reduced commute time helps in saving those extra hours in traffic and focus on more work productivity as work-life balance. This is very true to virtual offices.
Drawbacks of coworking spaces
- Lack of privacy: In an open setting, it could get difficult to discuss sensitive information related to the nature of work of the organisation. It could also be a hindrance to organisations which require a quieter environment.
- Distractions: If professionals of other organisations or your members at home are involved in any activity that does not pertain to your work, it could be quite distracting. The work will get slow and less productive if there are more distractions.
- Requirements: Since a coworking space is provided by a third-party provider, some specific requirements or preferences might not be met by the coworking space provider, as they would appear more doable in a traditional workspace. This is one of the main drawbacks.
- Dependence on technology: Especially in a virtual office, the dependence of a good Wi-Fi connection and other technology requirements could be a hassle as they are very costly and traditional offices usually take care of them.
Some of the leading providers of coworking spaces in India:
- DevX Coworking Space in India
- Wework Coworking Space in India
- Awfis Coworking Space in India
- 91Springboard Coworking Space in India
- CoWrks Coworking Space in India
- Innov8 Coworking Space in India
- Regus Coworking Space in India
- Workafella Coworking Space in India
- Cowork by Investopad Coworking Space in India
- Smartworks Coworking Space in India
References:
- SpaceN Workspaces: Leading Coworking Spaces & Virtual office address provider company in India, ANINews
- Blog: Best Coworking Spaces in India, Devx.work
You might also be interested to read: Leveraging Flexible Office Spaces To Your Advantage
