Solo freelance
Perhaps Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, who recently turned down telecommuting for Yahoo employees, is right. Perhaps we are happier and more productive when we work in an office, rather than working at home.
This theory runs counter to the enterprising and independence-loving American fantasy, in which we sit at home in glitzy clothes, or settle on the beach or at the local coffee shop, laptop and cell phone ready, and we manage a million dollars efficiently. – company in dollars. That is a popular fantasy, but for many people, the reality is not so idyllic.
In a 2010 Census Bureau survey, 6.6% of adults were found to work exclusively from home. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2009, 15 million adults identified themselves as self-employed. Add to those numbers telecommuters, some of whom visit your workplace offices just one or two days a week. Reducing or eliminating the cost and time of travel to the office are important benefits, but there is a percentage of Solopreneur consultants and frequent telecommuters who find themselves overwhelmed by loneliness and feelings of isolation.
Also, they are not as productive as you expect them to be. With disturbing frequency, those who work from home find themselves unable to focus on their work. They are easily distracted, they are prone to doing housework or watching television when they should be “at work”.
On the contrary, there are others who discover that they cannot stop working (that would be me). Too often, they (we) are immersed in work-related activities when we could relax and recharge our internal resources. Neither group can establish good boundaries between work life and personal life. Going to the right kind of office space can provide the solution.
According to DeskMag, an online magazine that covers the coworking industry, there are now nearly 800 collaborative business installations – that is, coworking – in the US, up from just over 300 just three years ago.
In addition to offering reasonably priced office space, co-working offices provide opportunities for interaction (networking) with like-minded professionals. Tenants (sometimes called members) share resources such as a kitchen, copier, and conference rooms. Some coworking offices create a party atmosphere and host social situations after hours, such as whiskey tastings, art exhibitions, and Christmas and other parties. “The need to feel socially connected is a fundamental human need,” says Ravi S. Gajendram, assistant professor of business at the University of Illinois.
The well-designed co-working office will create spaces that bring tenants together organically: pleasant sitting areas with long tables designed for sharing and conversation nooks with coffee tables and comfortable chairs.
“The design strategy is a typology that looks at both accidental encounters and organizational clarity,” says David Rockwell, designer of NeueHouse in New York City, a high-end co-working space that defines itself as a private club. Rockwell says the NeueHouse was designed to be in sync with the casual and interactive way creative professionals work today.
Still, there are those who try it and eventually get tired. Po Bronson, who co-founded the San Francisco Writers Grotto 19 years ago, says coworking offices eventually start to feel like the traditional offices we know and loathe. There can be collaboration but also envy, competition and gossip. However, for those who need some degree of structure to help define the necessary boundaries between work and personal life, a coworking space or two will be worth investigating.
Thank you for reading,
Kim