Coworking Amenities That Make A Difference
Coworking spaces are becoming the new alternative to working from home. They offer flexibility, accessibility, community, and plenty of useful additional amenities that your standard office or home does not have. London alone has over 1,000 designated coworking spaces and many more are emerging both over the country and around the world.
What makes these coworking spaces so successful? In previous blogs we’ve looked at the overall benefits to coworking spaces and how these spaces have benefited and enhanced employee wellbeing. Now, we’re going to focus on the actual offerings and amenities these spaces offer that make them so much more appealing than the home office.
Location and Convenience
I am counting the location of the coworking space as an amenity and bonus in itself. Many coworking spaces are located in city centres making them easy to reach for the typical office worker. Being city centre located also means they benefit from strong public transport links, helping to draw more workers in from the suburbs.
As for rural coworking spaces, whilst transport links might not be so strong, these spaces still benefit from their location in the sense of bringing the emerging trend of coworking and its benefits to more remote locations, not just selectively to those in cities.
Varied Workspaces and Facilities
Unlike a standard office where you might find yourself limited to a small area such as a single desk or cubicle, a coworking space typically has a variety of areas including individual pods, large meeting rooms, lounges with comfy sofas, and more. You’re also not tied down to the same desk or space each time you go, enjoy a change of scenery by swapping desks or working out of a completely different space.
Alongside this, coworking spaces also tend to have a couple of room designated to specialised work. This could be in the shape of a podcast studio, photography studio, meeting rooms, sound-proofed rooms for calls, and more.
These spaces are really useful for creatives who couldn’t afford the buy all the equipment on their own. It’s great way to attract content creators, entrepreneurs, and freelancers to your space.
Gym and Fitness Equipment
Including a gym or workout room in your coworking space can be a great way to support both the physical and mental wellbeing of workers. It offers a way for employees to get their gym time in without having to factor it in around working hours and including additional travel.
Coworking spaces will often charge an additional fee for membership to this gym or bundle it with other amenities as part of a coworking membership plan higher tier.
Childcare Services
Likely only to be found in big city centre coworking spaces, childcare services can help to differentiate your space, support your community, and also could turn into another stream of revenue.
This is not as simple as just buying some equipment like you would for a gym, it’s important to understand all that goes into running childcare spares.
Kitchen or Café Facilities
Whilst coffee is a non-negotiable in an office, not everyone is a coffee connoisseur. Stock your coworking space kitchen with a wide variety of drinks including teas, still and sparkling water, kombucha, and different coffee varieties.
Alternatively, go one further and offer the whole café. Have a café on site or partner with a café next door and offer a discount to members as a perk. Workers will be able to utilise this throughout the day and a good recharge on lunch break can make a world of a difference.
Outdoor Spaces
Outdoor spaces make a great change of scenery to break up the day – especially in the summer. A patio or terrace area with table and chairs and outlets is a nice to have bonus for workers to either enjoy the fresh air and sun or to take their lunch away from their desk.
Storage or Lockers
Having onsite storage or lockers can be a nice add-on for workers. It’ll benefit those with a busy schedule who might need to bring additional items with them such as a change of clothes for after work or those utilising your onsite gym.
Educational Resources
Coworking spaces are already great for networking opportunities, but this can be taken one step further with dedicated educational resources and learning sessions. Include resources like guides available to download or borrow, in-person learning sessions with guest speakers, or curated educational programmes.
By having unique and different coworking space amenities, coworking spaces can set themselves apart from alternatives of working from home or returning to the standard office.
If you’re thinking of opening your own coworking space, these amenities can help make your space stand out in an expanding market and draw more freelancer, remote workers, and creatives to your space.