How are Co-Working Spaces faring in the post-covid era

There are so many unknowns regarding how returning to the office will be now that the covid surge is behind us. Will it be full time back in the office, a hybrid model, or still strictly remote. With companies still in flux with what the work week will look like - firms are still trying to figure out how much office space they really need. This is helping the Co-Working Spaces as well as traditional office space.

During the early days of the pandemic when everyone was home working, employees saved hours of commute time per week. This allowed for productivity to either remain the same or actually increase. However, this is starting to now shift since over 2 years how now past. When the lock down originally began most office workers had several years of learning their office culture and had been mentored by seasoned upper management. "Quiet Quitting" is beginning to emerge, where employees forget going above and beyond their job description and only do the bare minimum at work. For companies to keep preforming well this cannot go on indefinitely. Leading business professionals are saying if you want to keep your job and advance get back to the office.

The biggest shift in Co-Working Spaces has been out of larger cities and into the suburbs so companies can offer satellite hubs. This is happening in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The areas where they are moving to are Denver, Seattle, and Phoenix. With this movement Co-Working Spaces are also shifting to these locations as well. Due to the pandemic many Co Working Spaces are offering larger work areas per individual however this does come with a cost. Companies are spending up to 15% more on Co Working Leases then prior to the pandemic.

Employers might be offering hybrid models, but they are finding teams must come together in order to promote growth within their company. Therefore, employers can reduce the amount of space they lease in major cities, but they still need to maintain their city headquarters. Many companies are taking advantage of this by reducing the size of their office and upgrading to a higher level of space. Also, many businesses feel the nicer the space the more likely employees will want to come to the office. Certainly, office space in major cities is changing but traditional office space is here to stay.