In 2022, businesses across varied sectors leased more than 90,000 flex spaces in India and the numbers are rising. Between 2017 & 2020 the sustainable culture of coworking space take-up rose from 1.5 million sq.ft to a whopping 10 million sq.ft.

Let’s talk about a sustainable culture that can be born out of flexible workspaces.

Cost saving, logistical benefits, and operational efficiency are definitely key influencers, but all of those aside, the cultural impact stands out as the one unsaid reason behind the widespread migration to coworking spaces. The pandemic has been the greatest eye opener and enterprises have realized the importance of culture as a driver for growth and sustainable productivity. Amidst an environment of fast evolving employee preferences, businesses have realized that a flexible, vibrant and positive environment only can build a culture which will attract & retain the new generation of talent. For these enterprises coworking is not just limited to leasing a space, but a platform which can help them build a culture of productivity and collaboration.

A published data observed that in India, the average age of 72% business founders is 35 years.

The millennial group is a key force behind the thriving start-up ecosystem, whose success can be largely attributed to their inclination towards coworking spaces over traditional leases. This is because these enterprises consider culture as a primary asset for their long-term goals and for them coworking is the most effective solution. For the new age enterprises and employees coworking spaces boast an open culture and promotes a flat hierarchy-less environment where it is easy to collaborate between peers. Coworking offers a more fluid knowledge sharing platform thus adding more steam to the creative efforts. It has been seen that businesses which has an open culture, garner more trust from their employees, thus reducing employee turnover considerably.

From the perspective of striking the perfect balance between work and leisure, coworking space is the most preferred choice for many companies. The renowned names in the segment have applied the modern workplace design principles which are not only peppy, but also offer the benefits of customization, thus allowing businesses to build a culture where people can enjoy their work, celebrate their success and spread their wings to innovate. From managed spaces to specially designed options, coworking is emerging as a one-stop solution for businesses who are trying to create a cultural niche for themselves.

Earlier, any business was all about ROIs, but now the perception has changed. Companies have realized that people are their greatest assets and mental and emotional wellbeing can take them a long way. Over the past couple of years a lot of enterprises have seen that in a coworking setting people enjoy more flexibility and it has been observed that due to the improved emotional well-being owing to the advantages of flexible, transparent and collaborative working, their productivity increased manifold.

As the rules of engagement in a workplace are changing, coworking spaces have become a sigh of relief for the businesses who are looking to break the barriers of traditional working. Businesses have started to embrace coworking not just as a cost saving option, but a path that leads to better productivity and collaboration. While the start has been promising so far, the constant innovation in the space will unlock new possibilities for the world of business.