MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Coworking Spaces Offer a Post-Pandemic Office Alternative

The number of spaces available for coworking — a concept mostly unheard of just 10 years ago — has grown dramatically around the world in recent years. While only about 160 coworking spaces existed worldwide in 2008, there were close to 19,000 in 2018. Many of the world’s largest landlords have invested heavily in these spaces. As one of the few bright spots in the office-space market after the 2008 economic recession, coworking spaces represented “one of the few sources of growing demand.”

That is, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. When your entire business model is based on people not working from home, the worst-case scenario is a global pandemic where almost everyone is working from home. The idea of working in one of these spaces, which bring large numbers of strangers together to use shared desks and communal areas, seemed almost laughable at the peak of the pandemic. Many predicted that coworking would permanently lose its appeal, under the assumption that people would no longer feel safe working in a shared space.

About the Author

Travis Howell is an assistant professor of strategy at the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business.

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