Coworking has flourished in the roughly 15 years of its existence and has become, not only a place for independent workers and startups to be productive, but a legitimate business that even large corporations have found a use for.
Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) newest study explores how coworking cultures impact the professional identities of the members and companies themselves.
HBR collaborated with WeWork between 2017 and 2018 to survey over 1,000 of their members in the U.S. and found that 71% worked full-time for companies or use the spaces for remote individuals and teams.
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest association and 5 being the highest, members were found to strongly identify with their organizations, but less so with WeWork itself.
The study asked members how WeWork affects their professional identity, which some said that it was simply a space to work out of. Others said the coworking giant has an active role in their professional lives.
Overall, the findings of the survey showed that WeWork’s brand did not dilute the culture or identity of companies working out of the space. In fact, it indicates that people have positive experiences when their work environment aligns with the company’s values, thus providing workers with higher levels of thriving and productivity.
