The year 2020 is behind us but the corporate world is still reeling under the effects of the pandemic. From social distancing to hybrid or flexible workspaces, from regular sanitisation to virtual working/working from home; we have all carved our own path to face these dire times. And all this, to ensure that our productivity remains constant.
Coworking office spaces sector, although popular and touted as an upwardly swinging trend until 2020, were expected to receive a severe blow and face setbacks after the pandemic. However, on the contrary, coworking spaces in Mumbai got a boost post pandemic because of various reasons.
Consider that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit us, and with lockdowns looming large, it was expected that remote working or work from home would dominate the workspaces for years. However nowadays, hybrid or flexi work is synonymous with a more sustainable and practical alternative. Not to mention that coworking offices go a long way in supporting this notion. All this, minus the burnout, isolation, loss of productivity and disbalance between home and office, that people working from home often complain about.
Let us take a look at the top four changes in the coworking office spaces sector post pandemic:
- Increasing popularity of coworking office space – Post pandemic the economy is gradually reviving and the organizations are inching closer to the levels of productivity that they were accomplishing before the pandemic. For some organizations, the sudden lockdowns, restrictions and curfews related to COVID-19 left behind huge debts and liabilities. This forced many companies to rethink and change their strategies to make profit and minimise losses. For the retrieval, cost saving and minimization of expenditures is a must. Shared office spaces are one such solution to minimize cost. In fact, even besides saving costs, coworking office spaces also helped in systematic return to offices,as we had known it before being hit by the pandemic. Therefore coworking has been continuously an upward trend, especially given that the harnessing of its benefits has been more meaningful post pandemic.
- The short-term flexible contracts:- Although times are gradually becoming stable and the equilibrium between workspaces and the environment is being revived, organizations don’t want to take any risks. Trending cautiously, as a result, companies are now opting for flexible contracts for office spaces and that too for shorter periods. They are more willing to renew existing agreements or sign up for new contracts regularly than to bind themselves under a single long term lease. However, exceptions exist as there are many organizations who are readily occupying huge plug and play space or fully serviced and equipped managed offices at long term contracts.
- Management of time and space:- Although coworking remains more or less the same before and after the pandemic, the most revolutionary changes it has witnessed are regarding judicious utilization of time and space. Coworking offices, in general, oppose the corporate idea of isolating employees in cubicles and limiting their social contact or interaction. In fact, at coworking or shared office spaces, employees can network with professionals and also seek mentorship apart from enjoying member engagement activities. Therefore, as a way to cope up, the coworking spaces came with an idea of flexible schedules that maintained only a specific number of people at the premises while maintaining physical distance, and not creating actual distance between coworkers. Another plus point is the option of day passes or usage of meeting rooms. If you require an office space for only a couple of hours or a meeting with your clients for a few hours, then coworking office spaces are the best option for you.
- Sanitisation and hygiene:- Cleanliness has become utmost important post pandemic. Although plug and play offices have always maintained regular hygiene practices, it has become even more of a priority lately. Health consciousness is now a big part of the normal life routine of all of us, and coworking office spaces are no exception. As a result coworking has shifted its focus now on regular and thorough sanitisation and cleanliness after every work shift. Meticulous efforts have been deployed to ensure safety of the members.
In conclusion
In a nutshell, it can be seen that there are many changes witnessed by the shared office spaces sector in recent times. Some of these may be classified as adapting mechanisms of both, people for undisrupted work life, and for coworking as a sector, for continued flourishing of the heavily invested businesses. If you want to know more about how coworking offices are going the extra mile in providing you safe and sanitized workspaces coupled with world-class amenities, then one such coworking office solutions provider is iKeva. iKeva has 10 centers in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai where it offers best in class services along with uncompromising and stringent adherence to safety and hygiene standards.