Coworking space vs Traditional office – which is the better choice?

What is a traditional office and what are its perks?

A traditional office is built on the foundation of privacy. That means that if you own a traditional office it’s entirely yours. Once you lease it, you are in charge of the design and how it’s set up. Traditional offices often have a certain structure that allows the employees to move smoothly through the working process.

If you’re having a tough time deciding traditional office space vs coworking, you should know the advantages of having a traditional office and why this concept has been around for decades.

Advantages of traditional offices

• Workplace relationships – colleagues can work in close proximity to one another, thus forming relationships that can help better the whole company. This also helps the process of the chain of command function properly.
• Privacy – each employee has his/her own space and traditional offices have meeting rooms where clients can also feel comfortable and secure.
• Atmosphere – quiet and professional with fewer distractions.
• Control – allows you to make changes wherever you want to without having to explain yourself to anyone. (This applies to both owners and employees)
• Branding – you can design the whole space to correspond with your company’s branding and to reflect your corporate culture.

What is a coworking space and what are its perks?

Coworking spaces are a newer concept that has proven to have many good sides to it. And people are more and more interested to experience this coworking phenomenon. 

However, there is still a common misconception that coworking spaces are these fun places with ping pong tables where the sun shines all the time and everyone is happy. Although it has some truth to it, coworking spaces are best simply described as a shared office location.

Here are the main reasons why to choose coworking when presented with coworking space vs traditional office decision.

Advantages of traditional offices

• Networking – when you work in a location where other companies or even freelancers work as well, the networking opportunities are endless.
• Change of scenery – the dynamics change daily, if not hourly. Taking that into account and the different people who work in the same location – boredom is not an option.
• Cost – of course, it is the cheaper option. Plus it’s move-in ready and you more often than not, don’t need to pay for utilities and maintenance.
• Flexibility – employees can actually move around and are not tied to a specific desk. This plays a big role in their mental health also.
• Atmosphere – dynamic and can help with elevating employee’s energy levels and reducing stress. 

Disadvantages of coworking spaces and traditional offices

We know, we know. How can you decide on the ‘’coworking space vs traditional office’’ issue if you only know the good sides to them, right?

Here are the disadvantages of traditional office and the disadvantages of coworking spaces.

Disadvantages of traditional office

• Expenses – with having a traditional office comes a long-term commitment budget-wise. This involves leasing the office for a longer period of time and paying rent to a landlord.
• Workplace relationships – the same people in the same location every day is a situation that raises the chances of intimate relationships forming or even staff not getting along.
• Scenery – the same scenery can easily lead to unhappiness, boredom, or even unproductiveness among employees.
• Office management – either the owner or a manager have to manage this kind of workplace, if you want the company to work like a well-oiled machine.
• Networking – fewer opportunities for networking and fewer social interactions.

Disadvantages of coworking spaces

• Branding – with a couple of organizations working in the same place, there are fewer branding opportunities.
  

• Distractions – because of the nature of the work environment (busy, louder, more dynamic) there will be more distractions that can spark procrastination and interfere with the work. 
• Structure – this means less direct contact between the hierarchy in the company, which can lead to problems in communication among all of the employees and diminish productivity.
• Privacy – or the lack thereof.
• Alternatives – there is always a better alternative to be found. If your business can work in a coworking space, it can also function remotely. And that is the cheapest of all options.

Conclusion

Like everything in life, there are upsides and downsides to deciding on coworking space vs traditional office. There is no perfect choice, only a choice that will be perfect for you. Get educated on the subject, see what are the pros and cons of each choice and, determine what kind of an environment you need for your goals to be met, while keeping in mind the vision for your future business endeavors.