Freelancing has a reputation of a competitive, life-on-the-edge way of working, but as more people have started taking this path in life, it has created the potential to build new professional relationships.
That was the case when Nyra Damani, a freelance photographer, and Vivek Dogra, a newly freelance video editor, met at a coworking space in Gurugram. Now, the two co-create content through their own partnership firm.
The gig economy has produced many relationships like this as the nature of work continues to shift towards collaborative, younger generations who have grown up around technology. This rise in mobile workers has led to the growth of demand for coworking spaces.
Technology also plays a large role in both the gig economy and the growth of coworking. It allows access to software that traditional offices cannot offer, including project management, IT services, and easily adaptable workspace design.
India in particular is a major hub for coworking spaces, as 70% of its startup founders are under the age of 35 and are largely responsible for the boost in this office sector.
A JLL report revealed that many coworking operators have been near 100% occupancy with a break-even period of 5 months, which could lead the sector to overtake traditional serviced offices by 2020. With this, it is evident that the gig economy has had a direct impact on coworking spaces today and will continue to do so in the future.