This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE number of people using co-working spaces is forecast to hit one million by 2018, according to JLL.
JLL’s report titled, A new era of coworking, there were only 75 coworking spaces globally in 2007 and last year there are 7,800, with the rapid rise driven by growth of the creative and technology industries and the changing nature of work.
The report suggests a tailored coworking solution can benefit in the form of increased innovation, resulting from working with entrepreneurs, start-ups and emerging technology platforms; to meeting the demand for business agility by providing flexible occupancy terms and fluid space, without the need to implement organisation-wide change, as well as attracting new employees who seek mobility and flexibility.
Coworking hubs can also reduce costs on space and act a revenue-generating practice.
JLL director of workplace strategy, Dinesh Acharya, said an increasing number of companies across the world are realising the value that a coworking environment can provide with respect to flexibility, collaboration and inspiration.
“Companies can realise additional benefits by paying for space ‘just in time’ to increase flexibility and reduce corporate real estate (CRE) costs, and by expanding social networks and reinforcing community to drive increased staff engagement.
Coworking is becoming increasingly accepted and sought-after by a diverse pool of businesses and is no longer a practice deemed exclusive or only applicable for start-ups.”
The research also noted risks that come with coworking, such as cyber security, privacy and possible issues associated with organisational culture, if it is implemented without careful consideration, or if staff don’t buy into the reasons why it has been introduced.
“It is important for organisations to assess the suitability of a coworking environment for their business model and monitor the risks this type of environment could pose, as part of a strategic corporate real estate and portfolio strategy.
“However, with an estimate of one million people to be coworking globally by 2018, this is a testament to how far the practice has evolved since its beginnings. We expect its prominence
Four core models of coworking have emerged; including internal collaboration (internal coworking space for employees only), coworking memberships (external coworking memberships for employees), external coworking space (collaboration space for employees shared with external organisations/individuals in an external coworking environment) and internal coworking space (internal coworking space open to external organisations/individuals).
Australian Property Journal
