Co-working: What It Is and How It Works
We hear a lot about co-working nowadays. But what exactly is it? It’s a style of working which involves sharing an office space, generally used by professionals who work freelance for different companies, but who share a premises to save money.
The alternative is to work from home, but that’s often not the best solution. Co-working is a flexible system which adapts to the needs of the various professionals involved. It usually consists of one common work space plus a private meeting room for hosting clients.
How Co-working Works and Who Uses It
Everything in the co-working environment is shared, even the pens and water, leading to considerable savings on overheads. Also, in general, you only pay for a co-working space when you’re actually using it! In addition to the “technical” aspects (such as a good broadband connection, printers, photocopiers and a coffee machine), you need a certain willingness to socialise, because mutual respect is clearly important if you’re spending so much time in a shared space.
Another common question in relation to co-working is this: Will I be comfortable with this sort of workplace and style of working? Co-working is a fairly recent phenomenon in Italy, but it seems to be catching on fast, and those who try it wouldn’t do without it.
Clearly, you have to like sharing, but there are various possible options: from coworking with lots of people – sometimes even more than 50 – to sharing a smaller space with perhaps only 20 others. It’s up to you to find the best solution, but one thing’s for sure: working away from home can be very pleasant, if you don’t have to do it every day. The idea of having an office to go to, and people to chat to during coffee breaks, is well worth the price.
