Coworking Is Not About Workspace — It’s About Feeling Less Lonely 12-31

Working remotely has many benefits: flexible hours, no commute, and autonomy and control over how you work, to name just a few.But as any remote worker will tell you, there are also considerable challenges. According to a variety of studies, isolation and loneliness are among the biggest complaints.

Working remotely means missing out on the human interaction and social aspects that being in an office provides.According to Vivek Murthy, the former Surgeon General of the United States, increasing numbers of remote and independent “gig economy” workers is one of the key reasons for the growing “loneliness epidemic”. Murthy also points out that loneliness is much more than just a social problem. It’s also a health problem, “associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity.”

Our research on coworking spaces show that these shared, member-based workspaces where remote corporate workers, startup employees, freelancers, and others “work alone together” can substantially reduce the isolation and loneliness associated with remote work. Some of the key findings from our surveys of coworking space members show that:

87% of respondents report that they meet other members for social reasons, with 54% saying they socialize with other members after work and/or on weekends

79% said coworking has expanded their social networks

83% report that they are less lonely since joining a coworking space

89% report that they are happier since joining a coworking space

Our initial research objectives for these studies were not focused on the social side of coworking. In fact, the studies were developed to explore the role that work-related networking plays in coworking communities. The study results show that professional ties are strongly enhanced by membership in a coworking space:

82% of respondents reported that coworking has expanded their professional networks

80% reported that they turn to other coworking members for help or guidance

64% said their coworking networking was an important source of work and business referrals

The research also showed a variety of other work-related benefits associated with coworking membership. Most members (84%) reported that working in a coworking space improved their work engagement and motivation. Most also reported being able to concentrate better due to fewer distractions compared to working from home or in coffee shops.

But despite focusing on the work aspects of coworking, our research found that it was the social ties of coworking that proved most valuable to members. When asked to list three words that best describe coworking, three of the top five words mentioned by coworking members — community, fun, and social — relate to social aspects.

Other studies confirm these findings.

For example, researchers at the University of Michigan found that coworking members report much higher levels of “thriving” than traditional employees. Their work shows this is in part due to the community aspects of coworking spaces, which allow members to socialize and interact with other members. Another study, Coworking Spaces: A Source of Social Support for Independent Professionals, reports that the main reason most members work in coworking spaces is for the social interactions.

As a society, a growing number of people are facing the isolation and loneliness associated with remote work — and they’re working alone longer. Gallup reports that, despite a few high profile examples of firms moving away from telecommuting, the number of corporate employees working remotely continues to grow. Gallup’s data shows that 43% of American employees report that they work remotely at least some of the time, up from 39% in 2012. Gallup also reports that the people who work remotely “at least some of the time” are spending even more time working remotely. The number of independent workers (freelancers, independent consultants, etc.) is also increasing, with most of these people working remotely.

For companies, allowing and paying for employees to work out of coworking spaces offers many benefits. In addition to reducing remote work loneliness, coworking spaces provide excellent business and technology infrastructure, strong networking opportunities, and exposure to innovative companies, products, and services. Companies will also benefit from having happier, more engaged, and more productive workers.

Independent workers should also consider coworking. They often benefit even more than company employees from the social aspects of coworking and find that the professional networking opportunities help to generate new business. While independents have to pay for memberships themselves, most consider the cost well worth it. (Coworking spaces range in cost from $45 per month to over $1,000 per month, depending on the space and location.

A good estimate of the average cost for the U.S. is around $350 per month.) Our research found very high satisfaction rates: 90% of respondents reported being either highly satisfied (79%) or satisfied (11%) with their coworking space; only 5% reported being dissatisfied. More to the value point, 94% reported the price they paid was fair (77%) or a bargain (17%). Also, most coworking members plan to continue to be members in two years, with only 4% reporting they likely won’t be members over that time frame.

The coworking industry has been growing at a rapid pace for the past five years. Our current forecast is for this growth to continue, with the global number of coworking space members increasing from roughly 1.6 million today to about 3.8 million in 2020.

It’s clear from the research that a major driver of this growth is the social aspects of coworking. Humans are social creatures who like being around other humans, and regardless of advances in remote work technology, this won’t change. The early coworking pioneers recognized this and focused on building supportive communities that included social activities. One of these early pioneers, Alex Hillman of the coworking space Indy Hall, went so far as to say “coworking is not a workspace industry; it’s a happiness industry”.

Simply put, by creating community and reducing isolation and loneliness, coworking benefits both organizations and workers due to greater levels of work engagement, productivity, and worker happiness.

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Can a thirst for revenge help your career? 09-10

Can a thirst for revenge help your career?

When Darius Vassell, a striker in the English Premier League, was traded eight years into his career, he went looking for redemption, eager to prove his value.  

As part of his new team, the Manchester City squad, Vassell consistently performed better against his former team, Aston Villa, scoring four goals   in the first four games against them following his trade.

Newspapers described it as a “vendetta” against the team that had traded him. “Going back to his old club always seems to give Darius a lift,” one of his Manchester coaches told The Mirror newspaper at the time.

In football the propensity of players to sock it to their former team is called “the immutable law of the ex.” Now, a study by researchers at the University College Dublin, finds statistically that the “law” is very real.

Outside of sports, the impact of defections by key employees is not as easy to quantify. For large organisations, great performance depends on many things, including resources at hand and specific industry challenges. But anger or a desire for revenge, be it on the field or in the office, may not be the career or workplace negative it’s long been presumed to be. Instead, it could be a key to turning in a top performance.

In a study of 402 head-to-head encounters between players and their former teams, players who left on bad terms consistently outperformed their new teammates. Whether attributed to a thirst for revenge, a keen sense of how the former team does things, or a bid to prove loyalty to the new line-up, footballers excelled when battling former teammates.

“For employees, channelling anger into superior performance can transform something traditionally seen as a negative into something beneficial,” said Karan Sonpar, co-author of the report.

Sonpar and his co-authors see implications for many fields of business where talent and relationships are crucial. Among them: investment banking, accounting and legal services, where relationships with clients are key. A few talented individuals can also make a difference in technology or advertising industries.

Sifting through 1,600 press accounts of such football matches, the researchers found certain themes repeated by media, coaches and the players themselves as explanation for their high level of play. For one, the players seemed to have a heightened desire to win against their old team. Many voiced a desire to prove their loyalty to their new employer. Knowledge of their former squad and former coach’s style was a key asset, too. Players who left on bad terms consistently outplayed their teammates, including being more likely to score a goal.

Corporate comparisons

While quantifying the effect in the corporate world may be harder, the danger posed by a skilled ex-employee isn’t any less concerning.

Of those who leave Deloitte Consulting, the firm particularly worries about employees who defect to another consulting firm, said Robin Erickson Lead Analyst for Talent Acquisition, at Bersin by Deloitte, a division of the global consulting firm.

“They take so much knowledge with them of our methods, our solutions, our client base, knowledge of the industry,” she said. “They know all the secrets.”

Some companies are fighting back. Lawsuits in the US seeking to enforce non-compete agreements have risen 61% over the past decade, according to the Wall Street Journal, and companies from computer chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices to financial services company Credit Suisse, among others, have recently sued departed executives claiming theft of trade secrets.

They have reason for concern. In business, unlike sports, defectors can end up creating new competitors. Semiconductor chip giant Intel grew to become far larger than Fairchild Semiconductor, the company where Intel founders Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce worked before launching the rival firm. German software maker SAP, now an $87 billion market cap company, one of the largest software companies in the world, started when five engineers left IBM after a project they had worked on was nixed.

In 1995 two former editors of the Harvard Business Review launched a new business magazine, Fast Company. Before leaving, one of the co-founders, Alan Webber, approached a professor at the business school who had once said he would help the pair with their endeavour. The professor declined, commenting, as Webber recalls, “Why would anyone need another business magazine when they have the Harvard Business Review?”That motivated Webber as he spent months trying to create a new enterprise and convince the world it was worthwhile.

“With Fast Company we wanted to prove the idea was great, but I had another motivation too. ‘You want to know who else needs another business magazine? The world does and I’m going to prove it’,” he said.

“When you are trying to move a rock up a mountain, you need as much motivating energy as you can get. You need great allies but it also helps to have a good enemy, someone you want to prove things to,” Webber said.

Five years after its launch, Fast Company was sold for $350 million, the second-highest price for a magazine at the time.

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