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A great workspace can foster innovation, collaboration, and productivity.
It plays a vital role in determining the success of businesses.
But as we navigate the deadly COVID-19 phase, the future of workspaces is being speculated about and debated.
Besides the 9-to-5 traditional offices, businesses are now investing in flexible coworking spaces.
But what can help them thrive?
Is it traditional offices or coworking spaces – which setup can be more profitable?
In this blog post, we have shared the pros and cons of each to help businesses like yours evaluate and decide the better workspace option.
So, let’s get started.
A traditional office is a private commercial space that allows organisations to work and achieve goals. From handling administrative work, confidential meetings to collaborating with teammates, this office setup involves performing all crucial activities under one roof.
Businesses need to lease a commercial building for setting up a traditional office.
Check out the pros and cons of traditional offices to understand why they could be suitable for certain businesses but not for all.
A quiet work environment is one of the most crucial elements to boosting employees’ productivity. Traditional offices offer separate cubicles or dedicated desks to working professionals. This approach creates a quiet workspace and makes it easier to concentrate.
Distractions like loud talking or noises often cloud the brain’s capability to focus. Such diversions are minimal in a traditional setup.
A strong bond between teammates encourages better collaboration and boosts the organisation’s growth.
No wonder businesses focus on creating a positive work culture.
Traditional offices operate in complete privacy and don’t involve professionals from other firms. This environment ignites a sense of familiarity between employees, helping them work efficiently.
Data is a company’s biggest asset.
No wonder, companies invest a lot to keep company data confidential.
But with the rise of digitisation, data security issues are becoming prevalent. Since there’s no access to unauthorised professionals in a traditional workplace, businesses can gain complete control over their workstations. The privacy factor helps them keep their data confidential and secure.
Parking spaces are overlooked, yet they are an important aspect of commercial offices.
Whether it’s the firm’s employees, clients, or prospects, anyone visiting the office needs a space to park their vehicles.
Sometimes, a lack of parking space may create a poor business impression.
With traditional offices, business owners get accessible parking slots with ample area to accommodate vehicles. They can rent an office space with a big parking lot to provide a hassle-free experience.
With traditional offices, businesses need to pay a long-term lease before moving to the workspace.
The lease is typically for three or five years. Once paid, businesses can’t break the contract to move into another space. Such an agreement can restrict them from making workspace-related decisions.
When a business owner leases a traditional workspace, they need to pay plenty of expenses.
They have to build and maintain the amenities like meeting rooms, desks, computers, laptops, cafeteria, and more.
The investment is expensive and can break their bank, especially if they are a startup.
Employees serving in traditional offices don’t get much-working flexibility.
This rigid working pattern can blur their personal life and work balance, leading to stress and poor productivity.
Networking can boost ROI by helping businesses build good professional relationships.
Besides, it can help employees learn new skills.
Traditional offices don’t offer considerable networking opportunities. The private working culture can lead to missing out on valuable business opportunities.
Coworking is a working arrangement that allows different companies to share the same workspace while husting towards their individual goals.
Coworking spaces are on a boom nowadays because of the world of benefits they offer.
They help businesses save a lot of expenses and focus on their growth.
Here are the pros and cons of coworking that reflect why most businesses embrace them while some don’t.
Workspaces that lack state-of-the-art amenities can impact employees’ productivity.
Coworking spaces come equipped with top-notch infrastructure and amenities. They offer all the working essentials to create a great work experience.
Here is a list of the most common amenities of coworking spaces.
Less overhead costs can improve the profit margins of businesses.
Since coworking spaces use shared amenities, business owners can save an enormous amount on upkeeping the office. They can share the expenses with other coworking companies.
This approach can help them utilise their budget wisely.
So, in the long term, coworking can bring tangible benefits to their bottom line, especially if the firm is in its expansion phase.
A long-term lease can create roadblocks for businesses.
They can’t break the lease agreement for a particular timeframe, regardless of the situation.
For instance, if a startup shuts its office during the COVID-19 pandemic, it won’t get a refund for the unused office space.
With coworking, business owners don’t need to pay such long-term leases. They can pay monthly payments as per the employee footprint. Besides, they get the flexibility to adapt to changes in real-time.
A rigid work style is unhealthy for working professionals.
It can lead to burnout and impact their productivity levels.
That’s the reason employees demand working flexibility. With coworking, employees can achieve greater work flexibility. Here’s how –
Coworking offers a multitude of networking opportunities to employees.
What’s interesting is that they don’t even need to step out!
They can collaborate with contemporaries, mentors, and expert professionals within the same workspace.
Such a collaborative environment can help them gain knowledge and deliver peak performance.
The location of a workspace has a decisive role in making or breaking the reputation of a business.
A prime office location with a good neighbourhood can improve business visibility, attract prospects, and retain existing customers.
Most coworking spaces operate at prime locations. The best part? Businesses don’t need to pay high rent on their own. The other coworking companies need to contribute, thus, making it a cost-effective deal.
Coworking involves sharing space with other businesses.
Employees with a creative or administrative profile may find the environment distractive.
But they can cut the distractions by opting for private desks. They can help them focus and give their best performance.
Unlike traditional offices, coworking doesn’t offer a dedicated parking zone. Businesses need to share them with coworking companies.
The shared parking spaces can create trouble for businesses, especially during heavy foot traffic of clients and prospects.
Businesses may have to face the loss of valuable leads.
Both coworking and traditional offices have their pros and cons.
So, there is no specific answer to the question.
For startups in their initial phase, coworking has a great value proposition.
But that doesn’t mean established businesses should ignore coworking. Leading firms like Amazon and Microsoft have switched to coworking due to flexible working options.
If you see the current work trends and think from a futuristic point of view, coworking can be a better deal.
Analyse the pros and cons of each and make a calculated decision to boost your business growth.
Get in touch with the team of The Address for guidance. We have helped thousands of businesses thrive by setting up an ideal workspace for them. You could be the next!
