Coworking is a form of working in a shared workplace. However, where it differs from traditional office is that many of the individuals who work in Coworking spaces do not work for the same company.
Why do people choose Coworking?
Co-workers are individuals with start-up ideas, those looking for affordable office space, or those who are employed but are in need of a place to do their work due to difficulties an employer might have with accommodating all workers within the space at their disposal. These individuals all have different needs, that could not be facilitated by libraries or the local coffee shop thus sparking the Coworking industry began to boom.
While the business of Coworking is still fledgling in Toronto, it has been going on for almost 10 years now. The term Coworking was originally coined in 1999 by Bernie DeKovan who described it as “collaborative work supported by computers and new technologies”,
However, the definition of Coworking as we know it today was given by Brad Nueberg in 2005, who described it as “a space where independent and mobile workers can work in a casual environment”. Neuberg went on to create Hat Factory in San Francisco and sparked the growth of the Coworking industry as new spaces began to open in San Francisco and began to move to New York and other cities causing the general public to notice the Coworking movement in 2007.
This spark quickly grew as Coworking spaces began to pop up all across North America and Europe, with the time period between 2009 and 2011 saw that the amount of new Coworking places opening was doubling every year.
Today there is estimated to be over 2000 Coworking spaces all over the globe, each one trying to fit the needs of the new age businessperson. Click here for more information about these needs. It has become an incredibly popular option for work space and has helped numerous startups to become fully fledged businesses.
