Corner Office Anywhere

As a long-time remote worker, it is usually my preference to work from home, or my home-away-from home. Over time I’ve learned that coworking has its place in your remote work toolbox, even for a naysayer like me. You might be wondering if working from a coworking space is a good idea for you, too.

Here are the pros and cons to consider if you are thinking of returning to a shared office space:

Pros	Cons
Separates work and home life	Adds a voluntary commute
Access to services	Expensive
Socialization	Environmental distractions
Flexibility	Disruption to routine

Read on for more details on each item in the lists!

Pro #1: Separates work and home life

If you appreciate having a routine that separates ‘work you’ from the ‘rest of you’, coworking will be a good option for you when you don’t have an office to go into. This is something I hear again and again from my cowork-enthusiast friends. Some need the emotional space to leave work behind at the end of the day, others use it as a focus tool because they are easily distracted by other priorities at home, or enjoy having a self-imposed commitment that gets them out of the house, and coworking is a consistent way to achieve that goal.

Another reason you may look into coworking options is if your home is simply not a good environment for working. If you don’t reliably have access to a quiet and functional workspace in your home, then coworking is a good solution that allows you to work from your preferred location, even if you do ultimately have to ‘go into an office.’ This is true on a temporary or workcation stay, too, where you may want or need to get in some work time, but don’t want to build your whole stay around your work needs.

Pro #2: Access to services

And speaking of functionality, coworking locations are usually stacked with workplace-related tools and services that you might not want or need on a regular basis in your home office or that you may need temporary access to. Even if Wi-Fi access and a laptop are all you typically need to get through a workday, coworking is a good idea if you need extra workplace services that you can’t replicate at home. Here is a list of some common coworking amenities beyond a simple desk and Wi-Fi that you might want to take advantage of –

• Extra monitors
• Printers, copiers, scanners and faxes
• Phone/recording booths
• Conference rooms and private offices
• Kitchenettes with coffee and tea supplied, and access to a shared microwave and refrigerator
• Cleaning service

Additionally, coworking spaces tend to include or be conveniently located near other amenities that are geared towards workers, like mail services, phone answering, lockers, couriers, childcare, gyms and fitness studios, and quick-grab lunch spots. Whether you want access to these services on a consistent basis, or need a temporary upgrade to your work from home setup, coworking is great for outsourcing office infrastructure.

Pro #3: Socialization

If you want to be able to rely on work as a source of opportunity for socialization, but have a remote job, coworking will also be a good option for you. Many coworking locations have an explicit goal to be a community hub for working professionals. One common tactic is to stage design elements that enhance the ‘watercooler effect’, like tabletop games, coffee service, and cozy seating groupings in addition to traditional desk setups. Some coworking locations also sponsor events geared towards their mostly young professional clientele’s interests, such as networking events, seminars, or local tourist activities. 

All of you extroverts out there will love the open office format and social vibe that most coworking locations seek to cultivate. Even those who prefer to work independently most of the time might find coworking to be useful as an occasional outlet to combat loneliness, if your employer does not have an office you can pop into. Coworking is also especially great for newcomers looking to tap into a ready-made community, and are therefore a useful stop while traveling, even if coworking isn’t your favorite work from home option.

Pro #4: Flexibility

Coworking usually presents many options that let you opt in or out, and scale your level of service up or down according to your needs. In many cases, you can do that even within the same coworking location. In that sense, it is a wonderful stop-gap if your needs for an office are in transition, or if you are trying to recreate the office life on a temporary basis, such as while you are traveling. If you are on the move a lot, you may even find a coworking chain or membership that allows you to drop in nationally or globally. As a digital nomad, I usually identify a nearby coworking location for each stay even if I don’t intend to use it, so that I have a backup work location in my back pocket.

Con #1: Voluntary commute

Recent research estimates that workers save about 72 minutes per day on commute time on days they work from home. This is to say nothing of the added stress and costs that commuting adds to your day. If you have the option to work from home every day, that is a massive amount of time that could be spent on productivity, family or fun time, or even just doing some well-deserved nothing.

That loss of time, money, and flexibility needs to be weighed against whatever pros you may have for coworking. And even if you are the rare bird that enjoys their commute time, there are many alternative ways to build a regular ride or walk into the beginning and end of your day. If you need to feel ‘forced’ to get out of the house, coworking is probably not the most efficient or cost-effective way to incentivize that for yourself.

Con #2: Expensive

Coworking can be fairly spendy. In the US, a monthly membership will cost you $300-$400 in most markets, and that usually gets you a ‘hotdesk’ or dedicated desk in the shared office space. If you need a private office space, it will typically cost much more. Of course, coworking costs will vary greatly with the cost of local real estate, so a coworking desk might cost hundreds of dollars less or more per month depending on where you are looking, and will even vary widely in different neighborhoods of the same metropolitan area. Day passes are usually more affordable as short-term expense compared to comparable alternatives, and these range from $20-$50 in the US depending on where you are coworking.

Those costs can add up, and the fact that coworking locations tend to be in the highest-cost real estate areas can exacerbate the cost. If you have the ability to funnel this money into your housing budget, you might find that you can afford an extra room that will serve as effectively as a home office space as a coworking space would, unless the other benefits are of high value to you. If you only need to figure out a workspace for a few hours, a coffee shop, airport lounge or hotel lobby might be a reasonable no- or low-cost alternative.

Con #3: Environmental distractions

Depending on your situation at home, coworking may give you less control over environmental factors and distractions that you have at home. Most coworking spaces operate with an open office model. No matter where you sit you are likely to have a line of sight to at least one other worker, and vice-versa. This can be uncomfortable for introverts, as well as noisy. In addition to a base level of noise that comes from your neighbors moving around and typing away, at least some of your desk mates will take calls from their seats. Although most coworking locations do have some spaces or phone booths to pop in and take a private call, the expectation at most of these locations is that workers may take a non-sensitive meeting at their desk with headphones on. Because coworking spaces tend to invite some amount of community and socialization, there are also likely to be some level of conversation going on around you between the other coworkers at any time. The vibe at every coworking location is a little different, but unless chatter is particularly rowdy, it will typically be tolerated by the coworking patrons and staff.

Con #4: Routine disruption

While coworking might add a pleasant routine for some, for others it might prove to be an additional hurdle to navigate every day. Coworking spaces usually operate on a ‘hot-desk’ model. That means that seating is on a first-come, first served basis every day. Unless you are able to secure an assigned desk or office, usually at a higher cost if that option is available, you’ll be starting fresh every day with your desk setup. You’ll have to learn the hard way where the highest-traffic, noisiest areas are, which desks have the best outlet access, and you’ll need to pack up every time you will be away from your desk for more than a few minutes.

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