Chances are, you know someone who works remotely, since nearly one-fifth of the workforce population has the option of entirely remote or hybrid work, and by 2025, this will rise to approximately 22%, about 32.6 million Americans. So where are they working from? You might assume that they’ve set up home offices and occasionally go to a coffee shop a few days a week, or the company’s headquarters if it’s required and nearby, and that is often the case. Many people, however, choose to work in a different setting that is designed for productivity when given the opportunity: coworking spaces.
A coworking space is an office space that offers many of the amenities of a typical office workplace—desks, collaborative and quiet spaces, an area for eating and socializing, and a structured environment. Both individuals and organizations can sign up for membership. (Society for Human Resource Management)
Sometimes referred to as a “third space,” coworking spaces are a break from tradition, or the typical (1) home and (2) office spaces with which we are familiar. Following in Europe’s footsteps by a little under a decade, the first coworking space in the states is considered to be the San Francisco Coworking space, started by software engineer Brad Neuberg in 2005. Originally hosted in a building shared with a feminist collective, Spiral Muse, the demand for the coworking space portion grew, and Neuberg relocated and launched a fulltime operation at the Hat Factory. Coworking as an industry and business model took off in the years following, and now there are thousands of spaces in the United States and even more across the world.
Coworking Spaces Offer Essential Office Amenities and More
Some coworking spaces boast particularly unique factors: out-of-the-box architecture (stacked shipping containers), beautiful views and locations (on the water), and fun activities (climbing wall-oriented member community), but the essentials remain a common thread across the board.
Different areas in coworking spaces are thoughtfully designed to meet varying workday needs: desks to work individually, conference rooms to collaborate with team members or meet with clients, health-conscious options like adjustable standing desks, and more lounge-like areas with couches and softer seating. Equipped with reliable and high speed WiFi, coworking spaces are the perfect place to work as to avoid dropping an important call or dealing with frustrations around spotty internet. Additional tech services often include printing and scanning capabilities and flat screen tvs for presentations and meetings.
Not necessarily always emphasized when promoting coworking space amenities, one of the most valuable assets to a coworking space is the staff and the occupants of the space itself. Managing a coworking space and taking care of the members is truly people-centered work; the staff work hard to offer a a space, service, and support for a productive work experience for everyone. Members themselves have varied professional backgrounds and experience that can contribute to support that naturally occurs amongst them, in interactions in the shared kitchen space or during more organized activities, like member-only lunches or happy hours. Mentors, seasoned professionals, entrepreneurs, and local businesses all make up the community in a coworking space like Stoke, which results in a supportive network hard to find elsewhere.
In action, this looks like:
Coworking space staff support members through planned and organic introductions in the coworking space and hosting purposeful events.
Member Huddle
Happy Hours / Socials
Coworking space staff developing external community-facing programs and events that provide connection and education.
AccelerateHER, an incubator program for women entrepreneurs
Networking events that don’t feel like networking events, some are member exclusive, some are open to public.
All of these efforts help to combat loneliness and improve social wellbeing, another benefit that coworking spaces offer but don’t necessarily list out as a specific item on their amenities page. "Coworking spaces facilitate social connections, offer employees more flexibility to work in an environment that best suits their unique needs and preferences, and may offer employees a more convenient location for a shared workspace that reduces their commute time and cost,” states Caitlin Duffy, research director in Human Resources practice at Gartner. Designating space outside the home helps many people maintain balance between their professional and personal lives as well.
From a survey of over 800 people conducted in 2022:
"Results showed that people are creatively solving their loneliness issues by finding a pseudo-office in third spaces, which include coworking sites. These third spaces are more socially fulfilling than working from the office or from home. Respondents found they could get a sense of relaxed but welcoming community from going to these sites." (Constance Hadley, organizational psychologist at the Boston University Questrom School of Business and founder of the Institute for Life at Work)
As noted above, not only do coworking spaces serve their communities as a space to work and gather, and often, they also serve as a resource, providing engaging events and programs that benefit members and the general public alike. Some independent coworking spaces (those that are not within the network of Industrious, Impact Hub, Regus or WeWork) even have partnerships with the city’s economic development departments, like the Nest Coworking in Peoria and Stoke! These partnerships are investments from the cities to support coworking space efforts to bolster the growth and success of small business owners, entrepreneurs, and creatives in the town.
Community Members Within Stoke & Making Use of Stoke Space
Over the years, Stoke has witnessed many different groups and organizations making use of the conference rooms, the former event space (renovated in 2021!), and coworking and dedicated desk areas.
The coworking and dedicated desks make great collaborative spaces for a few or several people to work in proximity to one another on the regular. For more private or robust meetings, conference rooms are a great option, set up with tables and chairs and a flat screen tv for viewing slide decks, metrics, and the like. For remote teams, Stoke’s largest conference room (seats 10 around the table, but even more seats can be rolled in!) serves every now and then as a retreat space. Formerly the event space and now the coworking area, the comfortable seating arrangements give people room to work productively through the day and a place to hold larger group activities or events in the evening.
One of Stoke’s longest-term members, Heather Steele, shared how she has utilized the space’s offerings over the years:
Team meetings, weekly, and one-offs like roadmapping workshops, stating “the big whiteboards are a huge part of why we like in person meetings in the conference rooms”
Conference rooms for webinars and livestreams
Farewell parties for employees moving on to new roles
Monthly women's group, brown bag, lunch meetups
Galentine’s Day taco bar potluck
Heather expertly juggles a few different roles, and Stoke is glad to be able to play a part in her workflow!
The Marketing Forge | Resources for DIY Marketers
Problem Solver Sites | Turnkey Websites & Content Writing
Value Building Marketing | Marketing Strategy & Fractional CMO
Advisor's Edge | Business Development & Marketing Resources for Business Advisors
Denton community organizations that use this space range from monthly meetings, Denton Town Makers, in partnership with Stronger Denton, a semi-monthly Writer’s Workshop, DTX Writers to nonprofits like Friends With Benefits for event planning and the occasional book launch party.
For a look at more stories from members themselves, read a collection of Member Spotlight interviews and AccelerateHER Cohort stories on the Stoke blog!
Stoke continues to evaluate space use and programming and events to provide the best coworking experience in Denton. To stay in the loop, sign up for Stoke’s email list for information on upcoming events, programs, the ever-coved office spaces that occasionally become available, and more!
