Remote work is on the increase, and the trend shows no sign of changing in the foreseeable future. Currently, 53% of employees spend more than half of their week working remotely. Perhaps more importantly, of those who do work remotely, a staggering 90% plan to continue working remotely for their rest of their lives.

Many of us associate remote work with “working from home”. But co-working spaces are becoming an increasing popular alternative for remote employees. Here are the main reasons why:

Less Distraction

As desirable as it may seem to work from the comfort of one’s own home, there is a downside. When you’re at home,  you’re surrounded by the stuff of family life. It can be difficult to maintain a work-focused mindframe, even if you have a dedicated workspace at home. Shifting the work to a co-working space gets you out of the door, and into a “proper” work environment, without all the distractions of home.

Increased Productivity

It seems like to a dream to be able to work outside of the traditional office, away from the interruptions and idiosyncrasies of your coworkers. But many remote employees start to feel isolated when they work at home on their own.There’s a buzz of collaborative energy back at the office that you just can’t get when you’re alone. Co-working spaces provide an excellent solution by putting you in proximity with your colleagues. Even when the other professionals in the co-working space aren’t a part of your own company, there’s still an increased energy level and improved vibe that tends to lead to greater productivity.

Networking Opportunities

There’s another great benefit of co-working spaces: increased networking. There are obviously limited networking opportunities when you work at home. But co-working provides more chances to network than even working in a traditional office. Being in the same space with people from another company, or freelancers, gives you access to people you might never cross paths with elsewhere. The interaction between remote employees from different industries gives the co-working space a mixture of diverse knowledge that would be difficult to find anywhere else.

Health and Well-Being

Though it’s great to work in one’s own personal space at home, many people find that there’s an unexpected side-effect. The boundaries between work and “life” tend to get somewhat blurry. It’s a little hard to tell where your homelife ends and your work-life begins. You might find that you’re less relaxed at home than you were previously, as well as less able to completely focus on your work. The simple act of separating the two aspects into their own spaces benefits both. You can leave your family life behind when you go to work at the co-working space. Conversely, you can relax more fully and rewarding at home without all the trappings of work.

Do you work remotely, or manage remote employees? If this sounds interesting, give us a call at 580 Executive Center, to learn whether co-working is right for.