Merits and demerits of moving into a co-working space

Posted by Lori Mitra on August 8th, 2019

In recent times, there has a been a surge in the demand for co-working spaces. This new trend of sharing office space has found immense popularity amongst budding entrepreneurs. Though in India it’s a fairly new concept, but is growing popular by the day. With several startups coming up everyday, it can be quite cumbersome to get a normal office space in a metro city. Often, they are priced exorbitantly, which many start-ups find difficult to afford. Thus, they prefer going for co-working spaces which are not only conducive to more social interaction but also allow the possibility of collaboration and camaraderie. Consequently, more and more people are opting to work alongside other freelancers and start-up entrepreneurs. This has also led to a boom in the realty sector! But is co-working a feasible idea for your company? Read on to find out more about its pros and cons-

Merits:

1. Encourages social interaction: you can get to know many like-minded individuals who are working in the same field. You can not only get important feedback from them, but also be surrounded by a dynamic circle of professionals in your workspace who can complement your business. You can discuss your projects, clients and ideas, which can be very profitable for businesses.
2. Wide array of facilities: co-working offices offer several facilities such as desks, whiteboards, Wifi Internet, photocopiers, and other office equipment. Often, small businesses and start-ups hardly have the capital funding to afford these equipments. Even if they manage to afford, the value is wasted significantly on a single person or two person office since the equipment would stay idle most of the time.
3. Flexibility of use: most co-working spaces have diverse pricing plans depending on usage. Some businesses have a monthly plan that is unlimited, a monthly plan with a set number of hours, weekly plan, and so on. There are also a-la carte plans for occasional usage. If as a business owner, you anticipate high usage, try to grab a deal by making a regular monthly commitment that is similar to a rental agreement.
4. Increased self-confidence: this is because you will have people around you to share your success. In a strictly work-from-home situation, that is not the case. In fact, reports suggest that a shift from work-from-home to an office brings about an increase in productivity as well as income.
5. Modern and cool design: the contemporary co-working spaces have a “cool” factor, in terms of their design, layout and amenities that most traditional office environments are not able to provide. You can enjoy some of the luxuries and upscale facilities by switching to a co-working space.

Demerits:

1. Lack of privacy: some businesses might need privacy and dedicated space, which is hugely compromised in a coworking space. Especially when it comes to sensitive information, confidentiality and integrity are put at stake. Besides, co-working spaces are often very noisy and distracting.
2. Restriction of renovation: once the initial phase fades away and the working atmosphere, seems to be monotonous, you will be put off by the limitation of renovation that is permissible to members of such working areas. It goes without saying that the ambience of your workplace is crucial to your productivity and efficiency, since it also affects your mood.
3. Not a long-term solution: once you start establishing the branding and expansion of your enterprise/startup, co-working spaces will not suffice. You will feel the need of a full-fledged headquarter, to keep up with the demand of your growing business. The larger the corporate brand value, larger the official premise you will require.
4. Competition and rivalry: often, sharing your working space might harbor feelings of rivalry and hostility. The same working space shared by several ventures makes way for unhealthy competition. It cannot always be a cordial scenario.