Flexible workspace companies have had to completely reevaluate their operations as their high density environments are no longer an appealing option for many businesses in a pandemic-ridden society.

Now, many are reducing their capacity to accommodate physical distancing measurements, as well as implementing sanitation stations and reducing occupancy in meeting rooms.

However, according to Colin Scarlett, executive vice president of Colliers Canada, many clients have continued to actively seek out additional office space to better accommodate spacing out their employees.

“To pick up and move into either a smaller space or potentially a bigger space, there’s a capital cost component to that: You need to build walls, put carpet down, buy furniture,” said Scarlett. “Where if you move to a coworking company, the coworking company spends all that money for you.”

While this method has been ideal for larger coworking companies who cater to enterprise clients, smaller operators are not as lucky. Chief operating officer of Canadian firm Workhaus Ryan Speers explained that the firm takes on the risk and exposure of the long-term lease in return for offering flexible terms. With smaller businesses opting out of taking up any office space, revenue has dropped substantially.

This has led small coworking companies to market themselves as a workspace that is more safe and health conscious than their large competitors.