Coworking spaces have become a vastly growing industry that has helped reshape the landscape of what it means to be a small business owner[1]. Coworking spaces are a critical part of a growing network of support that aims to help entrepreneurs who wish to expand their business while making themselves an integral part of their business community. But why choose a Coworking space? What makes them more effective than working out of a home office? What kind of tangible benefit comes from choosing to work alongside other businesses in a shared workspace?

The truth is that research has shown there is a plethora of reasons that Coworking spaces are becoming more popular throughout the globe. A study noted that Coworking spaces serves as a “new economic engine composed of collaboration and community, providing support for entrepreneurship, innovation and soft infrastructure for economic development.” Furthermore, Coworking spaces have been shown to be critical in helping to form a community in a field that can be isolating[2]. The same study demonstrates that in moments of stress associated with the owning and operating of a business having other entrepreneurs alongside helped individuals recover from such situations and helped avoid the isolation and stress that can come from working from home. The ability to work alongside individuals who are in the same position as you and communicate with them has been shown to be a key factor in motivation and drive allowing entrepreneurs to work longer, work harder, accomplish more, and to recover from stresses that may occur while owning and operating a business. When working in a Coworking space, you are a part of a community of support that will aid your business by helping you maintain a positive, constructive mindset as you push forward.

Coworking spaces serve as a place of joint efforts and connection between individuals from a variety of fields. Coworking spaces can be filled with individuals anywhere from pet-care to cybersecurity to fashion and design. Each individual brings with them specialized information and can contribute that information to other individuals in the community in order to form a network of ideas and expertise that can help your business grow and flourish in unexpected ways as well as aid in resiliency to unknown issues. Coworking spaces compared to acting alone are more effective as individuals who are a part of these spaces can benefit from “greater synergies” between themselves and others which leads to “less complicated and more effective work”3. These synergies allow for better and faster solutions to problems that may stem the growth or success of a small business. Furthermore, Coworking spaces were found to be relatively easy to integrate into allowing for individuals to exchange ideas in leading to a basis of mutual knowledge between the community as well as the exchange of vital information that may help newer business owners by giving them knowledge they may not have and gives veteran business owners knowledge about how the market has changed since they’ve entered[3].

While joining a Coworking space may seem like a risk or it may seem intimidating to join a larger community of business, research has shown that joining such communities is ultimately beneficial to both the business and the individual3. As the practice of Coworking becomes more common, it is becoming more scrutinized by various studies. A predominant majority of these studies are reporting that Coworking spaces are beneficial and a promising path for small business. These spaces represent a new and growing practice that allows for rapid and meaningful growth amongst small businesses. While it will take more time for longitudinal studies to be completed for Coworking spaces, these communities are an exciting new development in business and one that scholars seem optimistic about.

[1] Gauger, Felix, et al. “Coworking Spaces and Start-Ups: Empirical Evidence from a Product Market Competition and Life Cycle Perspective.” Journal of Business Research, vol. 132, 2021, pp. 67–78., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.008.

[2] Wright, Adrian, et al. “Favours within ‘the Tribe’: Social Support in Coworking Spaces.” New Technology, Work and Employment, vol. 37, no. 1, 2021, pp. 59–78., https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12214.

[3] Bouncken, Ricarda, et al. “Coworking Spaces: Empowerment for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Digital and Sharing Economy.” Journal of Business Research, vol. 114, 2021, pp. 102–110., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.03.033.