To what extent does the rise of co-working spaces have an impact on the traditional

offices?

Good morning! Today I am going to talk about what extent does the rise of co-

working spaces have an impact on the traditional offices.

As one of the fastest-growing workplace movement of the last decades, co-working

enables people from diverse backgrounds to work together in a common space.

According to a research, the number of co-working spaces around the world has

increased by nearly 7 times since 2011. Globally, an estimated half a million people

work in more than 7,800 shared workspaces today, a number which is expected to

climb to 37,000 over the next two years. The rapid expansion of co-working space has

transcended its origins as an alternative to traditional office space, originally favored

by technology, start-up and freelancing communities. Expansion of coworking space

may cause numerous impacts to both employers and employees.

Now, let me introduce some pros and cons of the coworking space first. In terms of

the advantages, form the employers’ aspects, coworking space can reduce the cost of

operation which can bring some economic benefit to the company. For the traditional

office, costs like utilities, renovations and furniture are all paid by the employers

which will increase the cost of operation. According to an article done by MDPI, for

the coworking space, there are no high up-front costs or long-term commitments. You

can pay month-to-month, or choose a different plan depending on the space you

choose. From the employees’ aspect, working in coworking space can enhance the

chance to network and collaborate with other people or company which can bring

some networking benefits to the company and the workers. Shared spaces mean you

This study source was downloaded by 100000787038097 from CourseHero.com on 01-11-2022 06:10:42 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/89647619/CAES1000-speaking-task-scriptdocx/
 have the opportunity to join forces with people with complementary skills or people

who require your skills which is beneficial to both employers and employees.

In term of disadvantage, from the employers ‘aspects, coworking space may lack of

personal branding since it is a shared space which cannot reflect your brand and

corporate culture. Therefore, the space might not be the best place to hold a meeting

with clients if you want to present a professional branded image. From the employees’

aspects, coworking space may bring many distractions. Being around other people can

be a great motivation to stay productive during the work day, but it can also mean

being surrounded by distractions that will limit productivity.

While there are plenty of pros and cons of coworking space,

However, concerns also arise with the increasing proliferation of coworking space

which may affect the traditional office. Next, I am going to talk about the impact of

rising the coworking space on traditional office.

Frist of all, the working style of traditional office may be changed due to the rise of

coworking space. Due to the flexible arrangement culture of the coworking space,

more and more people adapt and get use to the flexible working hours. Other than

that, flexible working hours can bring many benefits to both employers and

employees. According to a news reported by SCMP, flexible working arrangement

can increase the work life balance of the employee and lower the operation cost of the

firms. In order to attract more talents to join the company ad keep up to the new

trends, more and more traditional office starts to change the typical business hours

from 9am-5pm to flexible working hours.

This study source was downloaded by 100000787038097 from CourseHero.com on 01-11-2022 06:10:42 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/89647619/CAES1000-speaking-task-scriptdocx/
 Other than that, the proliferation of the coworking space may affect the workplace

culture of the traditional office. In the past, the traditional office is more focus on the

individual production. Rather than the collaboration and networking that happens in

coworking spaces, traditional offices encourage individual work. Now, due to the

expansion of coworking space, the traditional office encourages more collaboration

work which can increase the productivity and it is beneficial to the company.

To conclude, there are both pros and cons of coworking space. Other than that, the

rise of co-working spaces has an impact on the traditional offices. Both workplace

environment has advantage and disadvantage, choose a suitable place can maximize

the benefit. Thank you.

This study source was downloaded by 100000787038097 from CourseHero.com on 01-11-2022 06:10:42 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/89647619/CAES1000-speaking-task-scriptdocx/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)