Work from anywhere –  Is this really a new trend?

People have been falling about themselves to proclaim “work has changed”, the “traditional office is dead” and working from home is the “new normal”. 

However, is working from anywhere really a new phenomenon? Even in the ‘old days’ of having to go to the office for a full day’s work, this wasn’t the only place that work actually got done.  A restaurant, a pub, a golf course, a walking meeting, indeed there were 101 places where work could get done, in fact anywhere that could facilitate real human interaction. If you think about it, interaction with colleagues or clients is actually the primary role of an office and not simply somewhere to go to get wifi or a workstation.

Therefore in these COVID-times, what has changed is not so much that people can work from anywhere, but almost overnight it has now become more acceptable for the majority of the office-based workforce to do so. Even before the pandemic, flexible working was the direction of travel, but the speed of roll-out has been super-charged in the space of a few months to the masses across all sectors.

It wasn’t that long ago where many people would wait to sheepishly ask about potentially working from home once they safely got their feet under the table at a new job.  Now the ability to choose your work patterns is often visible right from the job advert and available for all levels from the most junior team member through to the chief executive. 

So now that people have more of an option of where they can work and how they structure their week, what are their options? Naturally the first port of call for many would be to work from their home office / kitchen table / spare room. In these COVID times that is the approach that many people are rightly taking, working from home if they can and setting out a new remote work routine supported by technology.

While this works for some people, an increasing number of people are quickly realising that it simply doesn’t work for them and certainly not 100% of the time. Missing real human interaction they are seeking alternative places to work.  While people with laptops have frequented coffee shops for years; we are now seeing restaurants, hotels and even pubs starting to offer workspace options during the day, with wifi, coffee and in the case of the pubs a pint as an additional incentive. (A great idea as far as this writer is concerned!)

Of course for flexible office and coworking operators, they (ahem.. we) are beside themselves shouting that this is what we have been talking about for years. Work somewhere that is closer to home, somewhere where you can flexibly make a small part of your working week, or your full-time base, somewhere that has the technology and facilities to enable you to do your work and somewhere you can safely interact and engage with others.

Coworking Operators are having to adapt as well

Work IS changing for almost everyone and even flex space operators are now having to quickly review, pivot and adapt their own offerings to meet the changing needs of business residents.

Here at MyWorkSpot, we have seen three key changing requirements over the past few months:

1. Corporate teams are seeking part-time space to bring their teams together –  We have seen businesses whose offices either remain closed, or they are not renewing their existing leases asking for space where their teams can work or meet face to face on a part-time basis. Some team members who can’t work at home are taking out desk memberships, while other members of the team work at home, with the full team getting together once or twice a month 
2. People looking for flexibility and a mix of open and private space – An increasing number of individuals are asking for a mix in their memberships of open and private space, which could include a coworking membership that also has a private office allowance within. 
3. Flexibility of term – As the world watches and waits on COVID, occupiers of all sizes are asking for increasing flexibility of terms in their contracts. For traditional landlords that means shorter, more flexible leases, while for coworking operators that means an increasing amount of PAYG, part-time or temporary licenses. 

For MyWorkSpot, we have had to take these new requirements, be prepared to create new products such our MWS “Access” membership, make private offices  bookable by the day as well as creating a lot more bespoke packages for new customers with differing team requirements. For those of you near Maidenhead, Berkshire, take a look 

Work from Anywhere isn’t new, but work is changing….

MyWorkSpot Maidenhead – 2 day free pass offer

We are a flexible office and coworking hub based in Maidenhead offering full-time, part-time and PAYG desks and private offices, as well as meeting rooms and event space. As well as local businesses based  full-time,  we have many corporate commuters who live locally and come to MWS to work or have meetings as part of their weekly routine. We also act as a satellite office for some company teams whose head office is elsewhere, but want a regular base to work and meet closer to home. 

If you live in or close to Maidenhead, come and check us out. For those new to MWS, we are giving away two free day passes to come and try out what we think is a better way of working. 

Next Steps

• Click here to take a virtual tour
• Click here to read our revised Health and Safety policy – (we are actively monitoring and adhering to the latest UK Government guidelines on returning to work, please get in touch with us by info@myworkspotuk.com or 01628 613200 if you would like to discuss
• Click here to find out more about our membership options, book a tour, or download the MWS app and get access to 2 free days immediately.