By: Katie Pownall
Over the past year we have all been on a steep learning curve. Many of us started working from home for the first time, and we had to find ways to communicate with colleagues and clients that didn’t involve being face to face. Mastering these new skills required us to spend a lot of time learning about various technologies that were novel to us. Now, lots of us are as comfortable with joining a video call as we would be walking into a meeting room. But this wasn’t a smooth journey; we’ve all faced issues in the last 12 months with technology! Despite these setbacks, most people would agree that we are all better equipped now to succeed in the world of work than we were at the beginning of the pandemic. So how has technology changed how we work from home?
Working from home
The biggest difference between working from home pre-pandemic to working from home now is that many employers are more open to allowing employees to work from home. We have all been trusted to work productively even when our bosses can’t check up on us and, for the most part, employers have seen productivity increase. The flexibility that working from home gives employees makes it a very appealing perk that allows them to work around their lives. Whether you are juggling childcare (as many parents have been throughout the past year), coping with poor health, or are geographically situated far from the office you might otherwise be expected to work in, working from home is a great solution. Technology now enables people to work from the other side of the world, meaning employers can source the best talent for their business, unrestricted by proximity.
Co-working as a solution
However, as we are all now expected to be able to work at home in much the same way we would in an office, the nature of working from home may not be providing all the bonuses it once did. Technology has made working from home much more similar to working in an office. Consequently, many people are looking for a working environment that combines the benefits of office working but in a location that is less distracting than home. To provide this solution, co-working spaces are popping up. Co-working spaces are shared office spaces that provide the perfect solution for a lot of people who appreciate having a place where they can focus solely on work, but with some of the amenities and facilities that make working from home preferable to office working.
Shifting mindsets
The rise of co-working spaces reflects the desire of people to find the perfect working environment. Many employers who have brought on people in the last year find it hard to justify the cost of office space for people who can clearly work effectively from home. The perfect solution is to offer co-working spaces that employees can use as they see fit. A key reason for this shift in mindset is definitely the global adoption of technology that makes remote working much simpler. It is easy to see co-working spaces becoming increasingly popular as we move back to normality and people seek out the perfect working environment.