Coworking Spaces and Possible Trends in 2019

Since the late 1980’s walled offices to "hackerspace" of the mid-1990’s and the emergence of the first official coworking space in 2005- office settings have changed beyond expectation. Since 2005, what the coworking spaces have gone through is also quite spectacular.

The early coworking spaces in Bangalore or Mumbai would appear old-fashioned if one compares them with the new trendy ones. Yes, “trends”- they really define an era, and in this case how coworking spaces should be.

Nearly 15,000 coworking spaces worldwide –the more successful ones, at least—have really capitalized on the trends to appear appealing through the unimaginable density of competition. And new trends would again alter the way we see and think of coworking spaces. Let’s just take a look at what the trends might be in 2019-

The Corporatization:

Scary or exciting, it is already evident that the corporate houses have entered into coworking sector in two ways. In the first case, the corporates have become the consumers and the second projects them as a service provider. The latter suggests that the office space providers would meet with tough competition, which is good for start-ups and professionals. The former case sounds a little strange, although there could be a lot of possibilities involved. Primarily, coworking spaces are understood to be meant for small groups of professionals; whether small companies or independent working individuals. However, nowadays big companies with hundreds of employees are increasingly choosing shared office spaces to work in.

It is natural that any corporate house would want to make the most out of the benefits of a coworking space – networking, innovation, productivity, finding talent etc. This is also great for the start-ups and professionals to team up, find better prospects etc. However, this might lead to the monopoly of big companies.

Design:

The aesthetic aspect of coworking spaces –especially interiors- have always been evolving symbolizing creativity itself. That is going to continue as a trendy aspect of such social office spaces in 2019 as well. Among many decorative models, bringing nature to the workspace would become a fancy option. Since many start-ups are going to be energy based according to many studies, it is perfectly fitting that the colors green and blue will dominate the walls, paintings, even furniture of coworking spaces representing clean energy.  Living walls, plants and biophilic designs will be frequently visible throughout these spaces irrespective of the city and country. More abstracts and handicrafts will also become a part of many shared office spaces.

Merging with Real Estate

This trend has already started with developers increasingly getting into mix-use spaces. For the moment, this is confined to existing buildings that are in prime business locations where landlords want to rent out or sell the properties which are open for renovation, and conversion.

Needless to say, the most preferred conversable is a coworking space. Similarly, existing coworking spaces also want to tie up with developers to add more unique features to their complexes and protect the designs from being reused. Seeing the demand for coworking spaces as workplaces and realizing that these are best platforms to showcase their own creativity, developers are more willing than ever to join hands with office space providers.

Some developers like RMZ Corp and Aurum Land Private Limited actually jumping into coworking sector to grow independently, and set new trends.

Categorization

Coworking spaces getting categorized might sound a little contradictory to the very idea of coworking, but it is already happening. Coworking spaces for only women, coworking with co-living and coworking spaces dedicated to specific sectors are not new. However, this classification would intensify in 2019. Similarly, global networking between coworking spaces might also experience further intensification, and that might leave many small coworking platforms out. Apart from that, coworking spaces + shopping centers would definitely create some buzz. Some of are just predictions, and some are already happening. Either way, there would be a sharp categorization of these shared workspaces in coming times.

Some may sound exciting, some may not appeal you, and some might be posing new challenges for some, but trends are bound to emerge in coworking spaces like everywhere else. Better be ready to embrace the nuances, and capitalize on those to make it big for your business.