Office space evolution and How it impacted working professionals

Planning your day to meet the 9-5 schedule was a thing of the past for most corporate office employees. Since the pandemic, corporate office planning and design evolved to a stage that it never dreamed of before. COVID forced most offices to shut down and adopt the remote working approach to continue running their businesses.

After the third wave in India, companies remodelled their corporate office planning and design to suit employee and office needs. Hybrid and work-from-home models got introduced, so employees need not travel miles or even cross cities for work. The option of remote work made professionals, especially people with more family members, kids and pets, or from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, look for workplaces that could provide office-like environments at affordable prices. And that’s when the coworking space industry began witnessing a spike.

Coworking spaces emerged in India in 2013. Earlier, the demand and popularity were limited among the freelance and entrepreneurial communities, but the post-COVID era encouraged most remotely working professionals to try their hand at coworking spaces.

How has the pandemic changed office spaces?

The pandemic brought a big shift in how working professionals look at their time, working modes, and workplace facilities. Since then, here are the top five changes that impacted the current generation of working professionals:

- Multiple working models

- Increased side hustles

- Prioritising mental health

- Flexible lease terms

- Networking

Multiple working models

The pandemic not only disrupted the traditional 9-5 or shift-based working models but also accelerated the adaption of remote working models. The virus restricted working professionals to their homes, bringing work-from-home into the limelight.

Later, when the lockdown restrictions got lifted, a hybrid model was established where employees could do both in-house and remote work in different proportions. Employees who were not comfortable at home began exploring coworking spaces and working cafés to obtain a work-friendly environment.

The opportunity for remote professionals to explore different working options gave them the liberty to choose workplaces where they find maximum efficiency and comfort.

Increased number of side hustles

Time is one of the biggest assets remote offices, working cafés, and coworking spaces offer. With abundant options, most people now choose the nearest workplaces to save the time and energy consumed by travelling long distances. It allows them to explore their interests or expand their skills to build side hustles along with their primary occupation.

Prioritising mental health

Corporate office and planning changed drastically in the last couple of years, particularly with regard to firms’ interest in their employees’ mental health. The employers focussed on creating a healthy work environment by repurposing and remodelling the workplace with indoor games, good ventilation, and table plants to ensure office spaces are not all about work but a little play and relaxation as well.

Flexible lease terms

The leases and rentals of office spaces changing from rigid plans to flexible models was one of the most functional changes happened in the industry. Firms can now alter their office space based on factors like employment size, types of rooms, etc., with no concrete long-term conditions.

The flexibility in the leasing models allowed not only the companies but the providers to be profitable by managing the spaces with packaged short-term and long-term plans, which as a result, is attracting more clients.

Networking in events to Networking in coworking spaces

Coworking spaces are filled with freelancers, entrepreneurs, and full-time employees from multiple industries. Although networking events are still popular and effective, coworking spaces are designed to form community-like networking, in which most people can meet with like-minded professionals and leverage the network formed to improve their careers. It was not possible earlier as offices were restricted to employees from the same company.

In other words, networking became more frequent, less time-and-energy-consuming, and free of cost.

Where is the future heading with office spaces?

Among all the big, popular, and drastic changes that have occurred since the pandemic, the most promising lifestyle change must be professionals breaking the monotony of independent or home offices and being open to blending among different people in coworking spaces.

With this shift, India is now witnessing jam-packed coworking spaces, serving startups, corporate employees, solopreneurs, and freelancers in scaling their businesses and careers. The distinctive interest in coworking spaces among India’s young working community is because of the unique benefits the providers offer:
 

- A community atmosphere where like-minded people surround you.

- Flexibility with memberships—Be it one day or year, you have different plans for different needs.

- Coworking spaces are available at the most affordable prices in the real estate office space industry—something an early-stage startup or a fresher would love.

- Refreshment zones with amenities like pantries and indoor games to help you get back to work with regained focus and enthusiasm.

- A high level of customisation—from office chairs to meeting rooms, you can choose the kind of workplace you need.

The variety, flexibility, and customisation of coworking spaces attracted a major proportion of working professionals and hustlers under its roof, separating it from the other office models that developed post-pandemic.

If you have not essayed coworking spaces yet, we highly recommend you explore Growork to boost your productivity, build your network, and scale your career.