The Future of Remote Work in the Post-Pandemic Era

March 2020 left the entire world surprised by Covid-19. Another looming issue was 'work.' Surprisingly, it was a declining period for coworking spaces. The worldwide coworking space market was valued at $9.27 billion in 2019 but fell to $8.24 billion by 2020.

However, since things are returning to normal, the market is likely to rebound in 2022. Because of the growing need for flexible working environments, analysts predict that the market will reach $11.52 billion by 2023.

But, what kind of normal is it? The new "normal" is about remote work and hybrid working spaces. Where do the coworking spaces fit in this new environment? How are they beneficial for the millennial workers, who are increasingly heading towards entrepreneurship or solopreneurship?

It will be a data-driven blog discussing the global shift of companies and small businesses towards remote/hybrid work and how it is profitable for businesses and beneficial for employees to work out of coworking spaces. Apart from coworking spaces, we will also discuss how virtual workspaces and remote assistants are becoming increasingly popular.

 

The Need for Remote Work 

The onset of the pandemic made the term 'remote work' popular. Of course, remote work started before it when companies like Dell allowed their employees to work from home. But what was the need for it, and why did people welcome remote work after working in a traditional office setup for so long? Here are some reasons.

• Flexibility at work: Remote work allows most employees to work during their most comfortable hours of the day. Many companies started work from home with no particular shift timings. Flexibility at work is the need of the hour. According to a study by Harvard Business Review, 96% of professionals in the USA prefer flexibility at work. It emerged as a possibility during remote working when professionals could choose their work timings irrespective of their office hours. 
• Better work-life balance: In a traditional office setup, people follow a fixed daily routine. Fixed routines or work timings usually do not leave scope for hobbies and side hustles that people may want to pursue. Remote work can be the solution to this problem. When people have the independence to choose their hours, they can make a workable schedule to accommodate hobbies and side hustles. 
• Remote work allows them to spend more time with their family: Whenever it comes to work urgencies or extra time for work, family time is first to take a backseat. However, it is possible to spend as much time as you want with family with remote work. This is why some individuals find work from home good for their mental well-being as they can spend more quality time with their family. 
• Freedom to work from anywhere: Many people favor remote work as it gives much authority and freedom to employees to work from anywhere they want to. Be it another city, a beautiful coworking space, or a cafe, you can do remote work from anywhere. 
• Remote work does not affect productivity: Small business owners and some well-established companies believe that remote work may hamper employees' productivity, but it is not true. On the contrary, some studies and surveys mention how remote work has increased productivity. As per the report, "On average, those who work from home spend 10 minutes less a day being unproductive, work one more day a week, and are 47% more productive."

This is probably because remote work does not promote gossip and unproductive water cooler conversations that a professional can't avoid in a traditional office environment.

These are the reasons why remote work is the future of the corporate ecosystem. It becomes a feasible option for professionals and companies alike, providing opportunities to grow personally and professionally. But, you may still ask, what is the future of remote work? How is it going to grow work communities?

Traditional in-office workplace settings make space for work communities to grow and interact. While some people think the same is impossible with remote work, it is untrue. The answer lies in the idea of coworking spaces.

But, that's not the only aspect of coworking spaces. There are many other benefits that we explore in the next section.

 

The Significance of Coworking Spaces

Coworking spaces emerged as an innovative 21st-century effort to transform workspaces for entrepreneurs. The estimation is that there will be about 42000 co-working spaces globally by 2024. Coworking has expanded by 50% in the USA in just five years. It says a lot about the growth of these spaces, which primarily focus on community-building and making the most productive use of large spaces. We have mentioned some mind-blowing advantages of coworking spaces from various perspectives, relatable for both employers and employees.

 

Advantages of Operating Out of Coworking Space

• An affordable option for small business owners: Small business founders or startup owners operate on limited capital. It may get challenging for them to afford operating expenses, salaries, and other costs. In addition, there are charges for customer acquisition. Owning a separate space for rent is far-fetched for some business owners. However, co-working spaces are an economical option for business owners who want to save on space rent. 
• Get multiple seating options: Coworking spaces picked up popularity among the new-age workers with their basic design and various options. You can select from a single desk, hot desk, cabins, full-seater table, and more, based on your preference and team size. In an effort to make workspaces cozy and homely, some coworking spaces also offer nooks and corners to work. 

• Coworking spaces help save resources: Citizens across the globe are choosing eco-friendly and sustainable working options. So what is better than a coworking space where you share space with the community, saving on daily utilities like electricity and water bills? 
• A feasible choice for solopreneurs: Solopreneurs have no set shift or hours to work on a particular day. They sometimes have to spend more than 12 hours at work because they have no team to support them. Funds are always short for solopreneurs. Hence, they require an affordable space where they can work for long hours. Coworking spaces are an answer to this challenge because they are well-maintained, affordable spaces, usually open 24/7 so that a professional can work for long hours or even late at night. 
• Good for networking: Entrepreneurs, in general, need to network well with other entrepreneurs. Operating in a coworking space can open doors for you to bond well with the corporate community and fellow entrepreneurs working in the same space. 
• Coworking space is a quiet, dedicated space to work: Professionals having worked from home for life need a dedicated space to work in. Living at home with a family without having a quiet and dedicated workspace corner can make work difficult. As a result, the work may suffer for such professionals, hindering their growth. Coworking spaces can offer various workable solutions to such professionals.
• A good place to focus on work: Coworking spaces can be your go-to option if you are working remotely but still want a dedicated place to focus on work. On the one hand, some professionals find remote work therapeutic; on the other hand, it can cause mayhem for some people. Hence, having this option at your disposal can make challenges easy.

The numbers indicate that professionals are increasingly choosing coworking spaces and remote work. While remote work is excellent in all aspects, it may get overwhelming when you do not have a community to connect to. That is where coworking spaces come into the picture. They provide a harmonious setup for professionals to work in. At the same time, that setup is affordable and has minimal disturbance so that you can focus on work. That is why the future of remote work is coworking spaces in the post-pandemic era.

Remote work requires a solid and well-functioning remote team that Wishup can help you build.

If you currently have a coworking space or plan to own one soon, check out these five things only andcards can do to make your business profitable and customer-centric.

A writer and content strategist with Wishup, Priya Gupta is a quintessential millennial at heart. She specializes in long-form writing, which requires in-depth research and analysis. She likes to write about remote working solutions, art, cinema, and technology. In addition, she loves to peek into the past through literature and curates startup news in her free time.