The latest office space trend seems to surround the movement of individuals, start-ups, and established companies moving towards co-working spaces for themselves and their employees. The elevated awareness towards co-working has been in part due to the rise of the We Company, previously known as just WeWork, which is best known for its co-working business. Although the company has since decided to devest in all ventures aside from its core business venture they recently decided to lay off 2,400 employees in an effort to save it’s business. While the We Company has had success in becoming synonymous to the co-working boom it has had little success in its yearly profits. Meaning they have yet to make any money and have lost money despite continually growing its locations and overall reach.
While WeWork is the model that is synonymous with co-working, but it is far from the success story within its business model. A company named IWG, or Regus, is currently leading the co-working category when only considering financial profitability. IWG has more square feet of office space than WeWork, earns more revenue, and earns a profit. While the We company was busy focusing on “elevating the worlds consciousness” others have set their sights towards profitability. While IWG is a global model for co-working success, much of that success can be found through smaller co-working brands located in San Diego. The success of local co-working shops like Union Cowork, Moniker Commons, Co-mmunity, Desk Hub and more are unlikely to feel any negative effect as the local coworking market is strong.
The co-working phenomena is not likely to go anywhere and some are expecting an increase as the industry has grown annually by 23% from 2010 and 2017. While last year co-working space accounted for 13.4 million square feet or 7.6% of total office space that number is expected to grow with the increase in the industry. While WeWork does hold almost a quarter of the market the phenomena cannot be just associated with the rise (and possible fall) of one company.
However, the rise in co-working may create an excess in desk space leading flexible space providers to lower desk prices. This has already been the case in some of the 16 largest cities where they saw the average desk price fall by 5%. There are several choices for co-working in San Diego, with We-work included, and a variety of work space pricing options. The lowest price for co-working options in San Diego may be Moniker Commons at $300 a month while Union Cowork is $400 a month. Pricing is only part of the picture when companies or individuals choose co-working as their preferred office situation. There are a few other pro and cons that companies or individuals need to consider when choosing co-working over renting a private space.
Some aspects that are inspiring more individuals to choose co-working rather than a traditional office setting is:
1. The amenities and perks are often a driving factor as this does not require anyone to furnish a space and provides printing, WIFI, conference rooms, kitchen/break rooms and often much more.
2. These spaces often spur creativity from a team as they environment they cultivate is thought to be more collaborative. Which may be an important building block for those looking to cultivate creativity and collaboration as the culture for a company.
3. Those who may have been working from home may crave the structure that come with working in an office.
While these may be enticing to many individuals there are still those who may stay away from the option due to the following reasons and more:
1. An open floor plan and the different individuals occupying a space can lead to a lack of privacy. While the amount of privacy options or possibly lack there of may vary in different co-working spaced it can still be a big concern. These concerns can range from others overhearing a private phone call or an unsecure network leaving files vulnerable. The primary concern may simply be the distracting atmosphere that allows for loud talkers in public spaces when one might need a quiet environment.
2. A company or individual may find them-selves occupying the same space as their competition.
While these may be motivators or reasons against opting for a co-working situation it is important that those looking to enter into the co-working business are able to deliver on every pro that a tenants would look for and address the cons that may hold others back.