Coworking

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Coworking is an emerging trend for a new pattern for working. Typically work-at-home professionals or independent contractors or people who travel frequently end up working in relative isolation.[1] Coworking is the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values[2] and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space.[3][4]

Some coworking spaces were developed by nomadic internet entrepreneurs seeking an alternative to working in coffeeshops and cafes, or to isolation in independent or home offices.[5][6][7] A 2007 survey showed that many employees worry about feeling isolated and losing human interaction if they were telecommute. Roughly a third of both private and public-sector workers also reported that they didn’t want to stay at home during work.[8] Coworking offers a solution to the problem of isolation that many freelancers experience while working at home, while at the same time letting them escape the distractions of home.[9]

Business accelerators, business incubators and executive suites do not seem to fit into the coworking model, because they often miss the social, collaborative, and informal[8] aspects of the process, with management practices closer to that of a Cooperative, including a focus on community[10] rather than profit.[11] Many of the coworking participants are also participants in BarCamp[12] and other related open source technology activities.[8][13][14]

[edit] History

The term "coworking" was coined by Bernie DeKoven in 1999 (see http://web.archive.org/web/20000511112525/http://www.coworking.com/ for earliest archived use), and in 2005 used by Brad Neuberg to describe a physical space.

Neuberg organized a coworking site called the "Hat Factory" in San Francisco, which is a live-work loft that is home to three technology workers, and is open to others during the day. Coworking spaces now exist in Argentina, Australia and Germany, although most of the sites are in the U.S. The San Francisco-based consulting firm Citizen Agency has actively promoted coworking, starting a space called Citizen Space which rents desks but also allows free drop-ins in the public spaces.[15]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Butler, Kiera (2008-01-01), "Works Well With Others", Mother Jones, http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2008/01/works-well-with-others.html 
  2. ^ DeBare, Ilana (2008-02-19), "Shared work spaces a wave of the future", San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/19/MN7CV2JFE.DTL 
  3. ^ Miller, Kerry (2007-02-26), "Where the Coffee Shop Meets the Cubicle", Business Week, http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2007/sb20070226_761145.htm 
  4. ^ Farby, Julie (2007-03-13), "The Hive Hopes To Revolutionize Traditional Office Space By Creating Coworking Space", All Headline News, http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006731137 
  5. ^ Fost, Dan (2007-03-11), "WHERE NEO-NOMADS' IDEAS PERCOLATE: New 'bedouins' transform a laptop, cell phone and coffeehouse into their office", San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/11/MNGKKOCBA645.DTL 
  6. ^ Von Bergen, Jane (2007-08-19), "A Step Up From Working In PJ's" ([dead link] – Scholar search), Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20070819_A_Step_Up_From_Working_In_PJs.html 
  7. ^ Williamson, Kate (2007-10-02), "Shared offices growing in S.F., Peninsula", San Francisco Examiner, http://www.examiner.com/a-968158~Shared_offices_growing_in_S_F___Peninsula.html 
  8. ^ a b c Reed, Brad (2007-10-23), "Co-working: the ultimate in teleworking flexibility", Network World, http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/102307-coworking.html 
  9. ^ LeClaire, Jennifer. Collective Turf Coworking Set to Open in Urbana. Office Space News. April 13th, 2009.
  10. ^ Fost, Dan (2008-02-20), "Inspiration Strikes Only a Desk Away", New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20ideas.html?ref=businessspecial2 
  11. ^ Fost, Dan (2008-02-20), "They’re Working on Their Own, Just Side by Side", New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20cowork.html?_r=1&ex=1361250000&en=dbd589ebb73df147&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&oref=slogin 
  12. ^ Clark, Jessica (2007-10-01), "Coworkers of the World, Unite!", American Prospect, http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=coworkers_of_the_world_unite 
  13. ^ Horowitz, Etan (2007-09-27), "Co-working can solve non-traditional office issues", Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-cowork2707sep27,0,4868019.story?coll=orl_tab03_layout 
  14. ^ Berve, Anette (2008-04-25), "In Search of Colleagues" ([dead link] – Scholar search), The Argentimes, http://www.theargentimes.com/downloads/docs/the_argentimes_36.pdf 
  15. ^ Dan Fost, "'Coworking,' a cooperative for the modern age", New York Times, Feb. 21, 2008.
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