CWE16 – The major coworking trends
At the coworking europe conference in Brussels we could see something interesting happening. Coworking is definitely not only coworking, and even the deskmeg research proves it. But then what is coworking? We can see a movement happening and it envolves a lot of different factors that end up in coworking as a solution for something way bigger than a place to work, but also for a whole lifestyle that is arising. Wondering why? Follow me on the major trends on the coworking market.
That is a big one and it threatens the current coworking business model. When corporates started seeing the advantages of having a coworking center inside their headquarters they started opening it for everyone, for free. Examples of that in the Netherlands are Achmea, Interpolis and Makro. All of them adopted the seats2meet concept and have an open space for freelancers in their already existing headquarters and shops. Awesome for the coworkers, not that awesome for operators which make their money out of charging a monthly fee for the coworkers. That’s when we go to our next major trend.
Off the grid
With already existing spaces opening their doors coworking operators have to find a new differential for users. In consequence one of the most discussed topics on the unconferences was coworking at rural areas, where corporates aren’t. In this way people can avoid the big cities, where, at the old times we would have to move to get jobs. Commuting also goes down and housing problems. And those are the practical matters, we can also talk about the connectivity with nature and better life quality.
But how to empower and bring people to the coworking spaces that are off the grid? That was big topic of discussion and connecting sounds like the better and most practiced solution. Coworking in off the grid areas as the Canary Islands are connecting to each other. They empower not only each other but the whole area, making it a place for digital nomads for example. The more digital nomads seeing it as a place to be, the more all the coworking scene in that area thrive. The same initiative is happening – and succeding – in other areas as Melbourne and Bourdeau.
Coliving
After coworking the new hype is coliving. After creating communities and spaces where people can work together, the next step is implement it even deeper in people’s life. This time we are talking about where they live. The housing market definitely provides an opportunity for that, being that house in big cities are ridiculously expensive. The nomadic lifestyle also has to look for good short stay places where they can also connect to locals, which is also a great opportunity for coliving. The thing to pay attention is that they both are walking together and happening together at the same places. Let’s see what 2017 brings us!
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