A space that is constantly bringing together a large amount of strangers seems like it’s doomed to disappear because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing guidelines designed to slow down the infection rate. A shared workspace is precisely such a space.
Despite the seemingly unfavorable conditions of a shared workspace during this crisis, many argue that such spaces are more important than ever before. Of course, they will need to adapt their service to the new sanitation and hygienic requirements to minimize the risk of contagion, but this isn’t a good enough reason to completely discard shared workspaces.
Here are a few reasons why shared workspaces are more important than ever:
Working from home isn’t ideal
While it may seem like the idyllic situation, working from home brings its own set of challenges for workers. Sure, there are no more long commutes, you have more time to spend with your family, your schedule is more flexible, and you can work from virtually anywhere in the world. But there are also many more distractions, such as kids and pets, and both your equipment and furniture aren’t necessarily optimized for work. This means you have to make do with a chair that isn’t ergonomic, a desk that’s too small or too big, a clutter of cables blocking paths, and a frustratingly slow Wi-Fi connection. This can be tolerable for a while but working entirely from home isn’t a long-term solution for most workers.
This is a situation where a shared workspace is ideal. You can use it whenever you need some focused work time or when you need to use a meeting room for a presentation or conference call. The equipment in these spaces is of a very high quality and is designed for office use so your productivity doesn’t need to be affected by having to work from home all the time.
Shared workspaces help support small businesses
Shared workspace clients usually are entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and freelancers. These are the same people and businesses that are extremely hard for government aid and resources to reach. Shared workspaces can be used to help make the connection between loans, such as those offered by the Small Business Administration, and these hard to reach clients.
A strong community makes recovery easier
There are almost zero businesses that haven’t been affected by this crisis. Some have barely felt the impact, while most companies have suffered huge losses. This translates into severe measures such as massive layoffs, and in extreme cases in the closure of entire companies. The reality is that a lot of people are going to have a hard time of getting back on their feet. Here is where the shared workspace can truly make a difference and help those who need it the most. After all, one of the pillars of any shared workspace worth its salt is a strong community. They have spent all these years building and nurturing this community and now it is time to make use of this great resource to help businesses, workers, freelancers, and entrepreneurs to pick up the pieces and start over.