When we started 580 Executive Center, we made sure to create different areas for specific purposes. We know that no two work days look exactly the same for anyone working remote, so we made sure to model the center with the different types of work you might be doing as the weeks go by. On top of that, we understand that a shared space can have it’s challenges if not planned out correctly. With that in mind, here are the different features you’ll find as you walk through 580 Executive Center.
Coffee shops have been around for decades now. Back in the 70’s they usually looked more like diners, with full menus and waitresses that walked around refilling mugs. In the 90’s they became more popular for casual hangs with friends, and french style pastries. In the 2010’s, they’ve become something different. Crowded, loud places that most people are trying to get in and out of as quickly as possible. In the early 2000’s, it might’ve been a great option to work from a coffee shop, because they were free, quiet, and had plenty of areas for you to sit. However, that has changed as we near 2020.
Coffee shops aren’t an ideal place for anyone to get work done. Plain and simple. They’re just not designed for you to focus on any type of work that needs your focus. Coworking spaces are. The sole purpose of a coworking space is to provide a place where you can get your work done. Here are a few reasons why working from a coworking space will make your work much easier.
For one, coworking spaces will provide everything you might need to make every day a productive work day. From supplies to printers, scanner, fax machines, and especially fast wifi networks, you can just walk in with your laptop, ready to work and know that everything will be provided. They even provide unlimited coffee so that you don’t have to get up and leave the space every time you need a boost of energy.
On top of your day to day needs, coworking space provide several resources that you might only use a few times, for specialized projects. There are phone booths that you can use to make any important phone or video calls and even conference rooms available to rent when you need to make a presentation. Make sure you ask about all the amenities available when you take a tour of any coworking space.
Another great thing about coworking spaces is that everyone there is there to work. You won’t run into anyone laughing loudly at a youtube video, or a frappuccino being blended in an industrial sized blender. Since everyone in a coworking space is there to get work done, you can rest assured that they will be respectful of the environment.
One of the most frustrating parts of working from a cafe is going in, looking around and not being able to find a spot. Even if you do find a chair, you might not be near an outlet. That never happens in a coworking space. We made sure there are plenty of seating areas, each designed for specific purposes, so you’ll always have a place to work, whether you need a quiet zone, or feel like networking in an open seating area. You’ll also never have to worry about finding an outlet to plug your phone or laptop charger into, because we made sure to put an outlet just about anywhere you might choose to sit.
Anyone who works remotely or owns a business knows one thing: saving money is important. Even if you like to spend on little luxuries in your personal life, spending money in regards to business needs to be more well thought out. Instead of just opting into things right away, you probably take a while to think about whether or not this investment is worth the money you’re about to spend.
One of the questions we often get about coworking is “Why would I spend money on a coworking space if working from home costs me nothing at all?”. From an outsider’s perspective, this might seem like a tough question to answer. However, we’ve worked with many remote workers over the years who can tell you exactly why paying for a coworking space has paid off in many different ways.
The first reason coworking beats working from home is pretty logical. Coworking spaces aren’t just empty spaces with a whole bunch of loose office chairs lying around. They’re fully equipped office spaces with staff members, cleaning crews, and basically anything that you could expect from an office environment. That means we have fast wifi networks, printers, supplies, and even unlimited coffee for when you hit that 2pm wall. All of these things are definitely available for you to purchase for your own home, but any good coworking space comes with all of them, hooked up and ready to use. You won’t have to think about transforming your personal space into a makeshift office. Which brings us to our second point…
For anyone who’s never worked from home, you might think it’s a dreamy world of working in sweatpants, with netflix in the background and snacks galore. However, this isn’t exactly an accurate depiction. One of the worst parts of working from home is that you’re forced to give up that feeling of relief when you come in the door of your home at the end of a long day of work. Often it can be difficult for remote workers to destress or even stop working at the end of their work day. Since you don’t make any physical transition, you might feel obligated to continue working, or even keep thinking about work when you should be spending time with family or relaxing. Coworking provides some separation between your home life and your work life.
On the other end of that point, creating a space that is dedicated to work can help you get more work done. When you’re at home, there are many distractions and comforts that can pull you out of a working mindset. It just happens. You remember that your favorite series dropped a new season today, or the ingredients in the fridge start calling to you. When you leave the house and enter a coworking space, your mind knows it’s time to work. There are no distractions, and you can get straight into that project you’ve been working on.
Anyone who works remotely or owns a business knows one thing: saving money is important. Even if you like to spend on little luxuries in your personal life, spending money in regards to business needs to be more well thought out. Instead of just opting into things right away, you probably take a while to think about whether or not this investment is worth the money you’re about to spend.
If you’ve decided to move into a coworking space, congratulations. You’ve made a proactive step to improve your work life, and become an even more motivated worker. You might be a little apprehensive about your first day walking into the coworking space. Any big change to your work schedule or routine can be a little bit daunting at first.
One of the best ways to eliminate stress going into a new situation is to prepare yourself with as much information as possible beforehand. We’ve put together a few rules that you can keep in mind in order to have the best possible time in your coworking space. Read over these tips before you go in, and you’ll have a little more information about how to function well in your new environment.
We understand that a lot of remote workers and people in general are introverted. If you’re not in the mood to meet people, you can utilize one of our more private work areas. However, one of the best perks of using a coworking space is the opportunity to meet and network with people from all walks of life, and professional backgrounds. The wide variety of people you can meet in a coworking space can be a help to your business and might even end up being personal friends. Taking advantage of this opportunity usually leads to people being much happier with their coworking experience, but again…no pressure.
One rule that helps any shared space function well is “Keep your own space clean”. If everyone in the coworking space cleans up after themselves, the space should stay relatively clean. Of course, the coworking space will have a staff and cleaning crew to vacuum and clean surfaces as well, but try not to take up too much space by spreading out unnecessarily, and leaving papers or supplies lying around in areas that you’re not using anymore. Clearing an area whenever your done is the basic rule of thumb, and following it will keep you and your coworkers much happier.
There are many extras that come along with a coworking space. After all, it isn’t just a huge empty space. Knowing all of the different perks you can take advantage of will help you make the most of your time. Any supplies that you’d expect from a normal office should be around for you to use, including fax machines, scanners, printers and fast wiFi. On top of that, there should be conference rooms available for you to rent, for when you have a client that you need to impress, or a presentation that you need to make to a contractor or other members of your team. Any good coworking space will also provide coffee, so that you don’t have to leave the space every time you need a refill on your americano. Make sure you ask about all the extras available so that you don’t waste time or your own resources on something that comes as a packaged deal with your new coworking space.
If you work from home you’ve probably heard this a million times: “Wow you work from home? You’re so lucky! You get to work from your bed, in your pajamas!”. You might nod and laugh when someone suggests this, but in reality, you know that working from home isn’t always as easy as it might sound. While you might be able to get away with throwing your hair up in a messy bun, or snacking on postmates while you work, there are some downsides to working from your home. The biggest complaint we hear from remote workers is by far a lack of motivation. When you’re essentially the only one who is keeping track of your time, it can be hard to motivate yourself to keep on task, or even get up on time in the morning.
Coworking spaces are a huge trend in the business world right now. Around the country, but especially in the bay area, people are dealing with the rising prices of rent and expenses involved with having a physical office space. For some companies, an office space is essential, such as a law practice or therapy office. These businesses involve a lot of face to face interaction with clients, and therefore require a space that looks and feels professional for those who visit on a daily basis. For other businesses, however, face to face interaction with clients might be rare, or even impossible, depending on the distance between the two. If your business falls into this category you might be considering other options besides renting an entire office suite, simply because that’s the way things have been done, or because your business is doing well and you can afford to rent one.
One thing we in the bay area excel at is creative thinking. Especially in business, the bay area has been extremely receptive to creative work and innovative, out-of-the-box ideas. Even in industries that don’t typically lend themselves to creative work, such as accounting or dental work now participate with social media branding and innovative marketing. You’re almost guaranteed to find at least one creative job in every big company in the bay.
Anyone in the bay area business world can tell you that the way things are done are completely changing. People are starting their own businesses more than ever, and they’re moving away from the confines of how business has been conducted in the past.
Remote workers are people who work from home, or to be more accurate, don’t work from any specific location. They’re mobile, or remote, and can work from any location they happen to be in, whether that’s down the street from a client or across the globe.
To answer the original question posed by this article, yes remote work is becoming increasingly more popular by the year. According to a 2017 Gallup study, 43% of Americans report spending at least some time working remotely. This is a 4% increase since 2012, so the answer is clearly yes, and it doesn’t show signs of stopping.
You might be wondering why this sudden change in work culture is coming about. We have many theories, since we love remote working, and encourage its growth. Here are a few reasons why there seems to be an uptick in remote work.
The workers of today are starting to ask for what they need more boldly, and what they need is flexibility. People are starting to ask for the freedom to travel and work at the same time, and parents are stipulating that they work from home certain days in order to care for their children. Remote work allows workers the option to plan their work hours in accordance with their lifestyle – not the other way around.
However, this flexibility doesn’t just benefit the employee, it’s good for the employer as well. Remote work saves companies money on in-house facilities and internet costs. It’s also great for the longevity of the staff. People who work remotely tend to be more happy with their work situation, which causes them to stick around longer.
Contrary to what you might think, people who work remotely tend to be more productive. There are aspects of working from an office that cause added stress to workers’ days that might make being productive at work a little tougher. Commuting for example, can add extra stress to people’s days. so working from home can eradicate this feeling. Not everyone is “good at” working from home at first, but once you figure out the aspects that make it work for you, such as earlier working hours or a coworking space, it becomes so much easier to stay productive.
In an experiment by Nicholas Bloom, remote workers worked 9.5 % longer and were 13% more productive. As you can probably guess, more productive employees turn higher profits for their companies.
Another reason remote work is becoming more popular is because it enables people to find the best and most qualified employees, even if they don’t live in the same area. Remote work allows people from around the globe to work together in a much more efficient way.
This also allows for a younger workforce to enter into industries and positions they wouldn’t normally. New graduates with tons of talent may not have enough funds to move to the right city for their industry just yet, but remote work allows them to gain experience in the meantime.
Coworking spaces are one of the many changes that have been appearing in the modern business world. As our society becomes more intwined with the internet, the need for a traditional office space is becoming a thing of the past, and people are starting to search for new solutions that better fit their needs.
