With the rising entrepreneurial spirit and spurt in the startup culture across the country, the co-working sector has been experiencing massive growth with demand for professional and affordable spaces. Among them the shared office space ecosystem are on the rise. As existing and upcoming businesses drench in the digital transformation wave, the dynamics of the workspaces have changed leading to an emergence of a variety of new trends.
Why Are Businesses Opting for Shared Office Space?
As large enterprises and budding businesses wish to reduce the operational costs and eradicate the capital expenditure as much possible, the concept of shared office space is a bliss for the entrepreneurs. These ready-to-move-in co-working spaces allow for an expansive geographical footprint, flexibility, affordability, nurturing tech-enabled environment, and collaborative workspaces while having the basic hygiene elements of an office space in place. The traditional outdated workspaces are on the decline due to the changed preferences of employers and employees alike.
Let Your Office Space Reflect Your Brand Ethos.
Modern flexible workspaces offer build-to-suit options to the tenants which allows the companies to customize and configure their office spaces the way they want it. This allows for curated office spaces wherein your employees would have a greater sense of belongingness and comfort, therefore, contributing to the positive, collaborative work environment with high productivity.
Factors That Have Fueled the Growth of Co-working Spaces.
- Work near home, Hybrid and Remote working models – As the concept of working has eventually evolved with remote working and hybrid working models gaining traction due to tech enabled solutions, the demand for shared workspaces is bound to rise. The ‘work near home’ phenomenon has compelled companies to explore the option of allowing employees to work out of their nearest coworking spaces as they offer a tech-enabled working environment as well as have the necessary office infrastructure for maximizing productivity.
- Tech enabled spaces with shared amenities – Collaborative workspaces with ample amenities that offer a good work life balance. Modern co-working spaces are thoughtfully designed with a blend of form and function. Flexible floor plans, wi-fi enabled zones, collaboration rooms, break-out zones, common cafeteria, 24*7 security, ample parking facility and other common amenities are provided to ease the employees’ work life as much possible.
- Millennials’ role – The demand for shared working spaces in India is fueled by a variety of causes, one of them being the startup led by millennials and even younger employees will likely continue to occupy shared workspaces in the country. Over 46 percent of India’s workforce is millennials so going forward their impact on society is going to be immaculate.
- Businesses on the boom – Multiple mergers and acquisitions in the market, increasing number of operators on the lookout for purchasing small or city specific businesses for the purpose of expansion or reinforcement of their position in the market in the future and players with national presence attracting international operators due to ease of doing global business under government’s initiatives. Hence, the demand for office spaces to skyrocket in the upcoming scenario.
- Niche workspaces in demand – The target consumer for co-working spaces has evolved with women entrepreneurs, freelancers, remote workers, solopreneurs, event organizers, corporate clients and budding startups being at the forefront.
- Increased geographical spread – Tier 2 cities and towns such as Indore, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Bhubaneshwar have witnessed a prolific increase in the demand for the shared workspaces that have bolstered the startup environment, with tier 3 cities catching up soon. Due to reduced operational and set up costs in tier 2 and 3 cities, MNCs and startups are strategically expanding their roots at such locations.
In nutshell, the overall predications state that shared working spaces have a bright future in India. By 2025, it is expected that around 42% of the population in India will work in urban centers, and hence the demand for office space will increase manifold. With economics playing on the mind of many new businesses, the demand for shared office space will grow tremendously in the next decade.