There are a lot of perks that come along with being a remote worker. The flexibility to work wherever you choose (provided you have a reliable computer and strong WiFi connection), the ease of convenience, and just the general look of envy from telling your friends that you “work from home”. But as exciting as it can be to work from home, there’s also a special kind of loneliness that comes when you don’t have a physical office or coworkers to interact with on a daily basis. In response to the rise of remote workers, coworking spaces have exploded across many major cities in the U.S. But these spaces aren’t just convenient – they allow for remote workers to get some of that interaction that they miss out on for flexible working.
Coworking gives remote workers a sense of connection to others – that valuable sense of community that comes from working in the same physical space with others. Though the coworking culture can be vastly different from that of a typical 9-to-5 employee, it’s still paramount that all employees have that kind of comradery.
Networking is also a valuable asset that can come naturally to remote workers who use coworking spaces. Research has explored the connection between coworking and entrepreneurship, showing that entrepreneurs with bigger businesses tend to have larger (and more diverse) networks. This is especially important for marginalized workers or entrepreneurs, who find themselves having difficulty with building their own communities in the tech and startup scene.
It’s also not just a social advantage that coworking individuals have – there’s also an added advantage with working. Shared workspace allows for workers to be more experimental with their work, exploring new ideas and uncovering connections that they may not have thought of before. This can help advance in business, especially when entrepreneurs are just starting out.
Coworking has so many benefits that ease remote workers and entrepreneurs back into the social world of tech and startups. As entrepreneurship and independent working continues to grow in popularity, so will the benefits to utilizing coworking spaces.