This study is based on the industry research aiming to analyze and discover facts about coworking and traditional workspaces. Below is a comprehensive infographic designed to show the differences between the two primary working environment with their pros and cons.
Every business requires adequate space to get started. There are various types of spaces available for any company to work on their ideas and strategies in today's rental market.
The workplace environment affects the efficiency of the company, which is why choosing the correct space for your services is a must.
The workplace environment affects the efficiency of the company, which is why choosing the correct space for your services is a must.
Multiple workspace options are available, but the most preferred and famous choices are traditional offices and co-working spaces.
These two are the primary working environments chosen by most of the people.
However, many factors need to be considered before choosing one of these for your services.
To get a better picture of this topic, you need to make sure you have listed down your expectations and mindset on the functioning of your company.
This is a crucial decision to make for mainly the people who wish to start their own line of business since it is tough for them to invest so much money in various domains.
The factors that need to be considered before choosing revolve around your professional traits, expectation, and workload of your business, a team of members, etc.
Here, a detailed comparison has been made between the two popular options to help you choose the appropriate one for you on the basis of your requirements and demands.
The Expense: which will be more cost-effective for you?
Traditional Offices
Many people prefer traditional offices, but the main issue is it may need you to go a little overboard with the budget.
These offices are undoubtedly a good investment, but it requires you to pay more money due to the building costs and real estate prices.
Therefore, setting up an efficient office for your company can be pretty expensive, which is why it is not highly recommended for start-ups when it comes to pricing.
Co-Working Spaces
Most people prefer a co-working space for starting a new business since it is more cost-effective. One need not to invest their crucial time and money on any significant investments or setting up the workplace.
The price you pay for working in this environment is lesser. There is no considerable effort or money that is required from your side, and thus, it provides all the start-ups a great workspace at a very affordable price.
The Resource: requirements for working in workspaces?
Traditional Offices-
Choosing a traditional office to start and run a business requires multiple additional efforts. There are various steps that need to be taken in setting up the workspace that can become very costly and time-consuming.
You also need to take care of various legal formalities. Instead of spending so much time and effort on building an office, it is advisable to choose co-working spaces.
Co-Working Spaces-
There are no prior requirements or formalities that need to be taken care of as such. However, there is a straightforward procedure that needs to be followed in order to start working in these spaces.
Making the payment is the only step you need to take to start working on your business here.
This saves up a lot of time, effort, and money which is why most of the people who wish to create their own company prefer this convenient method of workspace.
The Bills: extra money spent
Traditional Offices-
In traditional offices, you are expected to pay for additional factors as well, such as maintenance bills, electricity bills, water bills, etc.
This significantly increases the amount of money you spend in total on such offices. You even need to provide for your own internet connection and other electronic devices since it is your private place and you are responsible for it.
Therefore, the bills that need to be paid are also a significant addition to your budget.
Co-Working Spaces-
Unlike the external expenses at a traditional office, co-working spaces do not expect their customers to pay for any additional charges like maintenance or electricity.
They even provide them with efficient WIFI and network without charging extra. This helps people save quite a lot of money on external expenses, which is why most people prefer choosing co-working spaces for their services.
The Networking: building more connections
Traditional Offices-
Traditional offices are workspaces that provide privacy. There is no new group of the team or any other person working there apart from the people of your business.
This reduces the chances of you meeting new people and creating connections. These connections are beneficial since meeting new people works wonders for you in the business field.
Contacts play a very important role in expanding your business and gaining more customers as well.
Co-working Spaces-
When it comes to co-working spaces, the possibilities of meeting people from completely different career backgrounds are endless.
The amount of connections you can build in such working environments is very beneficial. This is because these contacts are valuable in the business domain and because people from different fields help you learn a lot of concepts you didn't know about.
They share their knowledge with you, and this helps you become more aware and intelligent.
The facilities: need to be provided at workspace
Traditional Offices-
Since traditional offices are your personal spaces, any external facilities like printers, scanners, coffee machines, etc., need to be organized and maintained by you personally.
In addition, there are multiple other things that need to be taken care of by you depending on your requirements and your budget.
The money spent on arranging these facilities is not worth it, so people do not prefer buying many valuable types of equipment to save money. This makes their budget even more compact.
Co-Working Space-
Such working environments conveniently fulfill the various facilities you desire for while working since they do not charge for any external facilities.
From coffee machines to printers, they provide all the necessary equipment for their customers in order to make their working experience smoother.
People are very pleased with this feature since they do not need to pay for these services and neither are they responsible for the maintenance of the same.
Furthermore, these spaces themselves efficiently maintain the management of these facilities. This saves quite a lot of money for the people and keeps their budget smoother.
The Flexibility: area of your workspace
Traditional Offices-
If you wish to increase the area of your workspace for expanding your services, the method is very tedious.
The expansion of personal space is very expensive and lengthy, which can cost you a lot of time and effort as well.
In addition, the entire expansion process will be your responsibility which is why there will be a lot of pressure on you.
To avoid this, many people avoid expanding their area and adjust to the original space even if they wish to increase their services.
Co-Working Spaces-
In such working spaces, the expansion of the area is done very conveniently. All you have to do is pay for the additional seats or spots you require, and according to you can expand your services.
This process is way more efficient than the expansion done in offices. Apart from money, this saves you a lot of time, effort, and responsibilities.
This is why people often prefer these working environments if they know they will need a larger space in the long run.
The Growth: workspace that will Help your company to grow
Traditional offices-
These offices are privately owned by people, thus it is entirely their responsibility to pay bills on time.
As a result, a large amount of money is spent on these bills, and another large portion of the money and other funds are stuck in fixed assets.
This leaves a very small amount of cash available for the people wishing to expand their services and make significant changes since the money required for these activities is used in other practices.
Co-working spaces-
A company can efficiently flourish and grow if they choose a co-working space for themselves since this allows them to save enough money that is needed for a jump in their business or to expand their services.
Moreover, they do not face the issues of stuck fixed assets since they do not have to worry about often paying bills or maintenance.
This is why people prefer these spaces to grow their business scale and allow them to save enough money.
Conclusion
After considering the seven main questions and briefly seeing the differences, we can draw a conclusion that a co-working space is more preferred and advantageous than a traditional office.
This is noticed in terms of budget, networking, facilities, additional expenditure, growth, etc. Although, you need to make this decision on the basis of your budget and requirements.
Choosing a correct workplace for your company is crucial since the efficiency and functioning of your services are highly affected.
Therefore, it is considered that the environment and surroundings have a significant impact on your working patterns, efficiency, focus, dedication, etc.
Many times in co-working spaces, watching people around you work makes you want to work as well. This helps in giving your dedication a push and does not make you feel lonely.
When you see people around you working patiently, it inculcates these qualities in you as well and helps you complete your tasks when you feel like procrastinating.
However, make sure you choose the correct place for yourself on the basis of your personal decisions and requirements.
In the end, all that matters is that you are enjoying working on your unique business.
About The Author
Name: Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is the head content strategist and operation manager with Coworkinger. He has been working closely with co-working spaces since last few years and is the brain behind the latest research and stats on the co-working spaces round the globe. He is passionate about networking and connections and is quite driven toward understanding what brings people to such co-working spaces. You may reach him at ishant@corworkingers.com
