Co-working spaces as a force for change.

As the landscape of hybrid office working begins to take shape, the different components are beginning to exhibit complementary strengths.

One disadvantage of the office which is beginning to surface is the tendency towards cultural homogeneity.  Recruitment criteria often include an element of ‘cultural fit’ or being ‘one of us’.  The logic is a commitment to company values and ways of working and it contributes to the ability to control an organisation – there are few dissenting voices.

But this is exactly where the weakness may lie.  If we are too similar then we may create our own echo chamber hearing the same ‘truths’ repeated; we may become subject to group think with no-one challenging ideas.  We make the same mistakes repeatedly and are weaker on innovation and creativity. 

Diversity is not only about gender and ethnicity – different ways of thinking and looking at problems are diversity too.  There is, of course, an interaction and mounting evidence that gender and ethnic diversity contribute in a positive way to thinking diversity.

Co-working brings different people together, not recruited to conform to a ‘cultural fit’.  The possibility to meet other people with diverse backgrounds, experience and ways of thinking is one of the key advantages of co-working spaces.  Being with other people and cross-fertilising ideas can be a rich problem solving medium.

WFH has shown itself to be surprisingly workable particularly if you have the space and good connectivity.  Zoom has proved that remote meetings can be very productive.

The office scores well for all those less formal interactions that go to make up a working life as well as the ability to create and drive shared goals.

The best co-working spaces have a distinctive role to play in the new hybrid world giving individuals the potential to be more effective when they are in the office or WFH environments.

Take advantage of the co-working mix; it’s not just a convenient and comfortable place to work – it’s a potential source of diverse thinking.