by Sam Melton, an aspiring tech writer who enjoys covering the fringe topics from a unique angle. Some of Sam’s pieces can be found on his blog: http://sammeltontalks.blogspot.com/. Outside of writing, Sam enjoys traveling and soccer. In fact, he really enjoys traveling to watch soccer!
It’s estimated that Generation Y workers will make up nearly 75% of the global workforce by 2025. And Gen Y’s increasing prevalence in the workforce – especially in start-up companies and leadership roles – has coincided with the move from traditional work environments to coworking.
These corresponding shifts aren’t coincidental – the adaptation of the workplace to a more flexible model is a response to real change.
Which came first – new workers or a new style of working? Either way, they’re forces to be reckoned with. Companies at every stage of development are seeking competitive advantage, and coworking spaces are an innovative way to make the most of resources – and keep employees happy.
But how do the workforce’s newest employees feel about it?
A new way of working
The classic top-down model of leadership is growing more and more horizontal, as companies focus on collaborative systems rather than chains of command. And that means more flexibility – in terms of positions, responsibilities, and workspaces.
Workers now wear a number of hats during a workday, a shift that has been formative to the Gen Y work experience. And an increasing number of workers are freelancers and independent contractors. These new hiring trends have reconfigured how organizations conduct business, and also how workers negotiate their role in this process. Workers are no longer necessarily confined to one role or even one office.
Work is collaborative, but so is the workplace – coworking spaces that are popping up in cities across the world enable small companies and independent workers to share both resources and ideas. Designed to increase productivity and promote collaboration, coworking spaces offer desks, cubicles, meeting rooms and even offices for nontraditional workers to rent.
Some spaces even partner with big tech companies to offer workers the most advanced technology – New York City’s HarlemGarage recently partnered with Verizon FiOS to give workers access to fiber-optic Internet.
Why Coworking is working out for Gen Y
An atmosphere perfect for a generation of workers accustomed to freedom and flexibility, coworking spaces provide Gen Y artists, entrepreneurs, inventors and business-people with an innovative place to work.
Coworking fits the Gen Y attitude toward work perfectly. It takes the emphasis off the 9-5 office and on productivity and personalization. It favors collaborative efforts rather than individual work. And it incorporates technology in a way that’s only going to grow.
The results are in. Coworking is a win for Gen Y workers, reflecting every value in their ideological toolkit. Coworking spaces are the physical iteration of the freedom and collaboration prioritized by Gen Y. Coworking spaces offer a method of bridging the gap between dream and finance – and tradition and innovation.
At $50 a day, a workday just doesn’t get any better than this.
