Even as more people work from home or from anywhere, coworking will continue to grow as a multibillion-dollar industry that fosters the growth of startups, small businesses, and enterprises.
The coronavirus pandemic has shook the world, and coworkers who once worked side by side in a vibrant and productive workplace are now all working from home. Many associate coworking with a fun work environment where everyone is a member of a community, and this community aspect of coworking is sorely missed by coworkers who are now confined to their homes. While working from home has its benefits, coworking will continue to grow as a multi-million dollar industry that supports the growth of startups and small businesses in the long run.
Of course, there will be some changes (or rather, improvements) in the coworking space, as anticipated by companies that have already jumped on the coworking bandwagon, such as:
Health Screening for New Employees
The COVID-19 pandemic will undoubtedly be devastating for most businesses, including those that provide flexible and shared office space. Coworking spaces, like many other industries, are unlikely to see an increase in clientele in the near future.
However, the pandemic would be nothing more than a blip in the coworking movement's rapid growth and popularity. It won't be long before coworking spaces are inundated with new inquiries from small business owners and startups eager to join the coworking revolution.
Once the pandemic has passed, existing businesses that will resume operations in their coworking space will require proper health screening for new employees. To ensure the safety of all clients, coworking space providers must plan a structured health screening process.
A greater emphasis than ever before on workplace hygiene
It almost goes without saying that coworking spaces will be expected to up their game when it comes to workplace hygiene and sanitation.
That is, office spaces will be littered with sanitizers and tissue boxes (no pun intended). The restrooms will be cleaner than ever. Sanitation-related coworking policies will need to be revised, and new posters will need to be created to remind coworkers to wash their hands on a regular basis. Essentially, coworking spaces will become safer, which will aid in the prevention of the spread of all contagious diseases, not just coronavirus.
Coworkers are entitled to free health screenings on a regular basis.
Many well-established coworking companies go above and beyond to foster a sense of community in the workplace by hosting bonding activities on a regular basis, such as breakfast meetups, movie screenings, and gaming tournaments in which all coworkers are welcome to participate. And, on occasion, some of these coworking providers will host free health screenings for all coworkers. Free health checkups would have been nothing more than a nice bonus to attract new clients for coworking providers until the beginning of 2020.
