Defining a sustainable city

What are shared workspaces?

Shared workspaces change the way people are working today. Especially for independent professionals and startups shared workspaces are a great chance to be more successful. There are four main types of shared workspaces that offer employers and employees a variety of options:

• Physical and Collaborative Workspace

These kinds of workspaces are also called coworking spaces. Employees are provided with the possibility to collaborate and work together more closely. Physical and collaborative workspaces are also a benefit for startups since they can have an office space at lower costs.

• Physical and Shared Workspaces

Such workspaces are used by several people, but in this case workspaces are not used at the same time but on individual basis. It can be compared to timesharing office space.

• Virtual and Collaborative Workspaces

Tools and environments are utilized by virtual employees to work together in real time. This kind of workspace includes virtual meetings, whiteboards, videos and any real-time collaborative virtual space.

• Virtual and Shared Workspaces

This form of workspace is not utilized in a group form, it is a virtual environment where colleagues can share information. Information is used, shared and managed individually. One example of such workspaces is Google Drive.

How can workers benefit from shared workspaces?

Diverse groups of freelancers, remote workers and other independent professionals such as startups use shared workspaces. When these people working for different companies, ventures and projects come together and work in the same place, they can benefit from each other. They have the possibility to help each other out since they are surrounded by people with unique skill sets. Moreover, shared workspaces can create a feeling of being part of a community, people can connect with the people they share workspaces with. For startups shared workspaces are also a low-cost alternative to renting their own offices.