This article describes an office system that Plantronics uses to motivate employees to work from home. Read the full story here.
What caught my eye was the way Plantronics adds coworking space as an option. Employees can work from home, work in coffee shops or join a nearby coworking space.
A coworking space is just a place where people can set up their laptops and do their jobs, whether they’re self-employed or corporate. I’ve been testing the waters at one – IndyHall in Philadelphia We were recently profiled in Philadelphia magazine; read the article here. It’s much more than a workspace: it’s a whole community and frame of mind. People care about each other. It’s more like a club than a workplace. Apart from the ban on dogs, I love it.
If you think about it, you spend $5 or more a day when you hit the coffee shop circuit. You can’t occupy a chair or table all day. You have to be careful about guarding your possessions and letting people overhear. You leave a cord or mouse behind and it’s gone forever.
Our coworking space is a safe haven in the working world. I’m reminded every day just why I do what I do. It’s filled with energy.
I think we will see more spaces like these in future. Awhile back I read that outplacement services used to give displaced workers lots of privacy during their job search. Now they create open spaces so people can talk and share ideas. The idea of community has become a part of the 21st century workplace.