Are shared workspaces a fad or the future?
The shared workspace trend seems poised for take-off in SA, following US real estate giant WeWork’s decision to extend its global footprint to Joburg
Nap pods, arcade games and craft beer on tap may have been the sole workspace domain of techie start-ups a decade ago. But today’s coworking or flex spaces are encroaching on their turf. With an emphasis on millennial buzz terms such as collaboration, community and co-creation, flex spaces already account for up to 20% of office take-up in global capitals such as London, New York, Paris and Amsterdam. And while it’s still in its infancy in SA, the coworking trend is poised for rapid adoption in the country, following the announcement last week that WeWork is opening shop in Joburg. The New York-based company, which Forbes magazine values at a colossal $21bn, is widely lauded as the catalyst for the so-called workspace revolution that is changing where, how and when people work. Co-founded by American entrepreneurs Miguel McKelvey and Adam Neumann in 2010, WeWork already operates 580 office locations in 100 cities; about 400,000 people rent a desk across its global office network. Th...
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