Last year, National Coworking Day led 40 coworking firms across nine Scottish cities to open up their doors for potential new members to test out various their workspaces. It is clear that coworking is becoming an established part of the workforce, but what social impact is it making?
The Melting Pot’s 2018 Social Impact Report found that, of the third of their members who founded their companies, 42% were women. This is double the UK average of female founders, which shows that coworking spaces are able support and promote more women-owned companies.
Additionally, most coworking spaces include a sense of community that can be hard to find when freelancing or starting your own business. In fact, the Melting Pot found that 95% of their members feel apart of the community and 80% have gained confidence professionally due to their membership.Â
One of the biggest takeaways from working in a coworking office is the ability to collaborate with professionals you may not seen in your day-to-day, which can be a huge motivational boost.
Now, more coworking operators are opening up shop in small and medium sized cities in order to help these areas develop their communities. Expanding into such cities can also cut down on commute times, which has been proven to improve workplace morale and productivity.
Overall, it is clear that coworking spaces are doing a great job of promoting equality and boosting employee well-being.