Analyst Insight The Impact of Coworking on Traditional Office Spaces

Many companies were forced to downsize and give up their traditional office spaces during the coronavirus pandemic. As employees return to work, coworking spaces have filled this market need by offering flexible work options. Employees can become members of coworking spaces, and this membership fee is an end-to-end solution. There are no expensive overheads, such as high electricity bills or administration and cleaning costs. Employees individually seek out these memberships, especially if they are freelancers or prefer to work in offices located closer to their homes.

Employees tend to follow the 3-2-2 hybrid business model, which means they come in to work 3 days of the week, work remotely for the remaining 2 days, and take 2 days off. When employees do come into the office, they have higher expectations from their surroundings. They expect social distancing measures and a safe, collaborative, and ergonomic environment that fosters productivity and creativity. Coworking spaces provide these elements with networking opportunities and aesthetic surroundings. Some even offer multiple location options. With the increase in vaccine rollouts, there has been an increase in demand for physical office spaces with a flexible business model.

The Guidehouse Insights Global Building Stock Database estimates office building stock and total building stock across more than 230 countries and building types based on a rigorous modeling approach that uses available building stock data to fill gaps in publicly available information. The updated database was published in 4Q21.