According to recent statistics, almost 5 million people work remotely in the US, at least half of the time. Less than half of the companies don`t allow their workers to work remotely, and 16% of enterprises hire remote-only employees. This means that the number of freelancers, one-man startups, and online enterprises is at its all-time high and, as such, is no longer something to be taken lightly. While it does give one a certain sense of comfort and commodity, working from home has its downsides, as well. The solution to this problem may lie in co-working. This phenomenon of sharing a work environment with other freelancers and people generally unrelated to your work has several advantages and here are some of them.
The Sense of Regular Work
First of all, not all freelancers are in the same situation. Some people use freelancing as a side job they do for a few hours when they come home from the office. On the other hand, a large portion of freelancers do this full-time. During larger projects, some of them are known to work even more than 12 hours a day, which means that most of the time, they have no reason to exit their home. This kind of monotony is known to seriously harm one’s productivity. By having an obligation to get up, do their morning routine and go to the office, one might have an easier time adopting a working mindset.
More Chance for Socialization
Seeing how freelancers spend most of their time indoors and all their co-workers exist only in the digital environment, their daily social encounters are often brought down to a minimum. Sure, this means no distractions or noise, but it can also mean isolation and loneliness. By working in a shared workspace, you can spend some time with your fellow freelancers and who knows, maybe even have an office romance like those you see on the silver screen. Think about it this way, you have at least one thing in common with the people around you, which is a great ice-breaker. This boost in mood is sometimes all you need to get you through the day when the going gets tough. Nothing kills productivity more than the depressing feeling of being on your own.
Lower Cost
Even though productivity is a huge issue on its own, sometimes no matter how much you work, you just can’t seem to make enough. When this happens, regardless if you do content writing, custom machining or let’s say online teaching, you might want to look towards your business expenses. In a lot of cases, if you have to lease the office, pay the bills, and take a decent broadband plan, you won’t have much left. For office jobs, leasing a shared co-working office space area can save you a small fortune on this end, and for manufacturing – you can save a lot by finding co-manufacturing space.
Creating a Professional Network
One of the most important things in any profession is being able to create your own network of contacts. Online, this might be a bit difficult since people generally tend to be careful around those they don’t know in person. On the other hand, by mingling with people in your line of work, or those similar to yours, you can make some invaluable connections. This way, if you ever need a professional favor or want to change companies, you will have someone to recommend you. Also, when working on a large project where you need some extra help, you can reach out to the person sitting next to you, rather than someone you find online.
Conclusion:
Unfortunately, there is no ultimate answer to whether it is better to work in an office or from the comfort of one’s own home. Some people cannot imagine working from home, while there are those who wouldn’t trade their living room sofa for any workstation in the world. However, co-working is something close to a compromise.
