Annual forecasts for 2022 speculate that co-working spaces will be taking the spotlight among remote workers. It is roughly estimated that by 2022 there will be more than 30,000 coworking spaces around the world, a jump from 2021’s 14,000 coworking spaces and 5 million coworking space users. As a concept closer to shared office space, the mix of trends driving the growth of coworking’s growth is as follows.
The Impacts Of Covid
One of the main reasons driving the growth of coworking in 2022 is the impact of the pandemic. There has been a consistent demand for coworking and similar flexible workspace models from the start of the pandemic up until now. It is believed that by 2030 at least 30% of the office market would be flexible.
During the pandemic when workers adapted further to the new normal that is remote working. they demanded more flexibility in their work schedules following a year of working from home. As a response to this, many companies opted for hybrid workspace models by providing memberships to coworking and flexible spaces to better support remote workers or employees who wish to work outside their offices 1-2 days a week. This hybrid model has shown immense results in terms of productivity, cost-effectiveness and employee satisfaction, making many organizational executives prefer to stick to this workspace model even in 2022 and beyond.
The Rise Of Gig Economy
One of the most obvious trends that will influence workspace solutions in 2022 is the growth of the gig economy. In the US alone, more than 35% of the workforce is considered dynamic. The many flexibilities of being self-employed have drawn the interest of workers, leading them to switch from full-time working to being full-time freelancers.
When referring back to the history of coworking, this idea of workspace solution was firstly initiated among freelancers who were seeking help from like-minded people. To date, freelancers make up a majority of coworking space users around the world. And with recent projections expecting a growth in the freelance working group, the use of coworking spaces will also thrive in parallel, sure to make 2022 the year of coworking spaces.
Startups Will Continue To Flock To Coworking Spaces
One of the many benefits of coworking spaces is that it’s extremely cost-effective. It provides almost all facilities like serviced offices to function more like a conventional workspace. It provides enough opportunities for startups to test the market with less overhead costs that come with a conventional office space.
Apart from this cost-benefit, there are many other factors that are driving the interest of startups to opt for coworking spaces. Some of them include the ability to enjoy the benefit of a reputed location, scale-up workspace as the need arises and the opportunity to work alongside like-minded professionals, and build good business networks.
Moreover, nowadays as startups are urged to hire the right people in the early stages, business executives predict that in 2022 new ventures will be focused on investing time and money in their recruitment processes to get potential talent on board, rather than on office real estate.
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