Maximizing Productivity – Understanding Coworking Spaces
With vast access to information in our current epoch, it’s inexcusable to ignore that work structures are changing and if you want to start your own business, understanding new approaches are vital; especially if you want to maximize productivity. This series of articles spotlights key factors that have been proven to boost revenue and encourage a stimulated, highly productive work environment for any start-up.
The approaches have been backed by research and tested by leading start-up companies. Using these clear-cut, effective strategies will boost productivity, creativity, and efficiency in your start-up company.
Utilizing your office space
Coworking spaces are in, and they have some unique advantages. According to the Harvard Business Review, people in coworking spaces find their work more meaningful, have a higher level of job control, and feel a stronger sense of community. It is easy to see why these elements would increase the productivity of a workforce.
Meaningful work
When we find our work more meaningful, we are more likely to go above and beyond the call of duty because we consider that what we are doing is genuinely important, irrespective of the paycheck that we receive for it. Coworking spaces group people together who work in different areas of similar business fields. The value and meaning we take from activities are often the results of a group mentality towards an activity. When the space you work in is dedicated to a variety of approaches across similar fields, there is a greater sense that what you are doing actually matters. When it matters, it’s meaningful and when it’s meaningful, we care about doing our best.
Job control
Having a higher level of job control reduces stress because people are capable of managing their own time and working to deadlines that they created, rather than deadlines that have been externally forced on them. Coworking spaces thrive on more relaxed and flexible working hours, meaning people can decide to work longer and shorter days according to their workload. When you feel in control of your time and tasks, you work more productively, have reduced stress, and exercise greater freedom in your personal life.
Sense of community
A sense of community is vital to improving both productivity and morale in the workplace. When a sense of community is strong, employees are likely to help each other with the workload, support one another if someone is falling behind and make each other feel happy and at home in a place where they will spend the majority of their week. Happy workers are more productive!
Start small to get bigger
The reason start-up companies may find coworking spaces particularly useful is that they save money that would usually be spent on building, renting or designing an expensive office. When a company is still in its embryonic stages, saving unnecessary expenditure is vital.
As a company develops and evolves into a bigger organism, it may naturally step towards owning proportionately more private office space so that the sense of community they have built from shared spaces can be transferred to a ‘business home’ of their own. I say “more private,” because the company would still allow for a certain amount of other business types to share the space.
In doing this, you have a place that represents your specific business model and ethos, yet still maintains diversity within the business and reap the rewards of a coworking space. The result is the best of both worlds.
Understanding your workspace
With a preliminary, yet cogent understanding of the coworking space advantages, you can take this guide with you when considering your start-up location. Whether you are a freelancer in the Netherlands, or a small business owner – it’s time to start considering a coworking space for yourself.
In our next installment of this productivity series, we will take a look at management structures and try to understand why the stern old hierarchical model may be in need of a fresh new facelift. Stay tuned…
