When the worldwide pandemic hit, there was no alternative to requiring large numbers of workers to stay away from their traditional workplaces. In many professions this meant working from home. At that point not that many white collar workers were used to online video meetings. Skype was seen as a somewhat clunky or exotic software that few used regularly. In what now seems like no time at all, existing video conference software like Zoom and Microsoft Teams became heavily used. And they were improved at breakneck speed. It became not only easy but commonplace for people to work mainly at/from home. Online video meetings are completely normal now.
Some including me had long advocated more flexible working for employees and employers. See “Can Homeworking Save the Planet” by the Smith Institute :
We had already predicted the new ways of working. They had argued these were lower carbon, more productive and technologically feasible. But it took Covid to force the pace.
People working for themselves had been the pioneers of flexible working. Now employees and importantly their employers were catching up fast. Today many employers have to offer flexible working. With many also downsizing their own office space, use of coworking spaces has become much more common and familiar to corporates. The ‘WeWork’ model (albeit one that is over-priced and overstretched hence its share collapse) has made companies see the use of buildings shared by many others from different companies normal.
Covid initially threatened the viability of workhubs. Members stayed away at home and income fell. However, with the assistance of furlough and business grants (including to Workbox members), as the pandemic subsided the sector saw a significant growth in demand. This change in our view will be a positive factor for a many new workhubs.
We at the Workbox experienced three main significant changes as a direct result of the Covid experience:
Our members use of online video meeting software (Zoom and Teams) became routine and commonplace. Before Covid it was uncommon to see members talking to people in other parts of the UK/World on their desk screens. Today it is the norm.
We noticed a rapid shift, with more new members working as employees for organisations that had become happy with their staff working remotely and in many cases paying for them to do so at the Workbox instead of just at home. Our membership is now roughly 50:50. Half are people who work for themselves/run a business (the traditional Workbox members). The other half work remotely for employers, often outside the area, sometimes abroad.
Demand for our self-contained offices shifted from being dominated by expanding small businesses and start-ups taking on staff to a wider appeal. Downscaling companies wanting to save office costs with more of their staff working flexibly but retaining a smaller base in a coworking space became prevalent. Today both types take our offices. Downscalers are as important as upscalers.
These changes led us to respond to some changes in workhub practices, particularly by providing booths/pods and noise-reducing headphones.