Coworking spaces are becoming more popular, not just for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams, but especially for large companies.
As we return to a new normal in the workplace, we’re seeing emerging trends in the coworking industry. Whether you’re already a prospective or current member of a coworking community like Kiln, or new to the concept of coworking, here are a few trends to be aware of:
Coworking spaces are becoming more popular, not just for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams, but especially for large companies.
Coworking communities have always presented an alternative to the traditional corporate lease. Coworking spaces are amenity-rich, staffed, and furnished. Put simply, they’re a one-stop-shop for all things workplace.
Nonetheless, the stereotypical users of coworking spaces have always been entrepreneurs, creatives, freelancers, and small businesses. Today, that trend is changing. The massive growth in the flex-office industry can be attributed largely to growing demands from large teams.
At each Kiln location, we dedicate 20% of our space to open-layout coworking, and reserve 80% of our space for private offices for teams ranging from 2 to 50. We serve clientele ranging from law firms, to clothing retailers, to tech teams. Recently, demand from larger teams has led us to build second locations in Lehi and Salt Lake City, Utah.
If you run a large company, you’re no stranger to the demands of maintaining an office space. At Kiln, parking, conference rooms, printing services, kitchens, mail services, phone booths, high-speed internet, cleaning services, a business address, and reception services are included. A traditional long-term lease or corporate real estate strategy (where you’d be responsible for furnishing and managing your office) is expensive. You might consider the steep price tag of each of these amenities when you look (or stop looking) for your next lease.
The traditional office is a thing of the past. Read more about the future of work.
Most Americans now prefer the hybrid-work model to working in an office full-time. Coworking communities are designing for the future of work.
Recent statistics show that nearly 70% of American employees prefer to split their time between remote working and office time. After a long year of working from home, many people are eager to interact with colleagues, eliminate screen time, and regain control of their work-life balance. Still, the perks of working remotely, like having your dog on your lap, taking a call while walking on the treadmill, and lounging on the couch, shouldn’t just disappear.
Coworking spaces like Kiln are designed to ease the transition between work and home. Our common spaces, multimodular desks, and colorful interiors foster a sense of belonging. You can work at the cafe, at our standing desks, biking desks, outside, or in private phone booths. We even allow dogs.
Learn more about Kiln’s Design Method.
Coworking communities create innovative hubs, and anchor entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Coworking communities first appeared in major cities. Now, as employees look to cut down on their commute, they’re increasingly in-demand in smaller cities and suburban areas.
Post-Covid, employers face the daunting task of luring their employees back into the office. When coworking communities pop-up in suburban areas, smaller cities, and central hubs, this task gets easier. For companies, coworking spaces present an opportunity to set up a network or satellite and regional offices. For employees, coworking spaces can mean less travel, shorter commute times, convenience, and enterprise-level amenities.
The coworking industry is relatively new – in just two decades, rapid proliferation led to an estimated 19,000 coworking spaces operating globally by 2019. But, there’s still a lot of room for growth. Coworking spaces are no longer novel, they are necessary.
Once concentrated in San Francisco, New York, and Seattle, coworking and flex-office spaces are now coming to towns and metropolitan areas near you. Kiln is leading that growth in Utah, Colorado, Idaho and throughout the Mountain West.
Coworking communities create innovative hubs, and anchor entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Coworking spaces provide opportunities for networking with like-minded individuals. This is important at every level of business. With weekly programming ranging from entrepreneurial round-table discussions to Apres Work happy hours, Kiln presents an alternative to working in a siloed environment. For solo-founders and small teams accustomed to a lonely work-experience, Kiln might change the way you think about entrepreneurship.
Most importantly, innovation quickens when you put more smart people in the same room. Our community teams at each Kiln location foster fruitful connections between members.
