Last week the results from the spring coworking space member survey were released at the Global Coworking Conference Unconference (GCUC). Emergent Research (that's us) partnered with GCUC and Jacob Sayles of Office Nomads on this study.
The key finding is while coworking spaces are definitely workspaces, they are also much more. They are places where members work, network, learn and socialize together.
In other words, coworking spaces are human spaces.
The key results from the survey illustrate this.
Work related:
- 84% said they were more engaged and motivated when coworking
- 67% said coworking improved their professional success
- 69% said they feel more successful since joining a coworking space
Networking related:
- 82% said coworking has expanded their professional networks
- 80% said they turn to other coworking members for help or guidance
- 64% of the respondents said their coworking networking was a very important (26%) or important source of work (38%)
Learning related:
- 69% reported they learned new skills
- 68% reported they improved their existing skill set
- 67% reported they attend events at their coworking space occasionally (45%) or often (21%); only 4% said they never attend events
Social related:
- 87% report they meet other members for social reasons, with 54% saying they socialize with other members after work and/or on weekends
- 79% said coworking has expanded their social networks
But even more interesting is coworking makes people happier. We asked how being a coworking space member had changed their lives. According to the respondents:
- 89% reported they are happier
- 83% reported they are less lonely
- 78% reported that coworking helps keep them sane
Our research objective for this project was to better understand the role work-related networking played in coworking spaces. And the results show that work-related networking is strongly enhanced by membership in a coworking space.
But despite our research being focused on the work aspects of coworking, the social and learning sides of coworking came out loud and clear. To be honest, this surprised us a bit.
We'll have more on our results in the coming weeks and we'll also be posting the full presentation on the GCUC website in the near future.
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