Many women are attracted to the idea of working from home. The possibility of staying at home and managing a career can indeed be quite enticing. However, merging personal life and work may not always turn out to be a good idea. Whether you are a woman solopreneur, freelancer, or running your own small business, you need to ensure that your efficiency is not impacted in any way. As more and more women are opting to work independently or remotely, coworking can provide them the right environment and flexibility they need to maintain their work-life balance and carve out a niche in the professional world. Outlined below are a few compelling reasons why women should use Coworking space n not “work from home”.
5 Reasons Why women should use Coworking Space and not Work From Home
- Coworking is a distraction-free environment
- Coworking helps Overcome isolation and feel connected
- Network in an effective manner
- You get proper space for professional meetings
- Women discover new business opportunities
1. Coworking is a distraction-free environment
Working from home may have its advantages of no commuting during rush hours and being near your family even as you complete professional commitments. But more often than not, the home environment may not be conducive to work. One of the biggest disadvantages of working from home is the constant distractions that you have to face. Kids, television, pets, the list of distractions can be long and varied and can impact your work. A neighborhood coworking space can offer you a distraction-free environment where you can focus on your work without bothering about the chores at home.
Image: The Office Pass, Neighborhood Coworking office
2. Coworking helps Overcome isolation and feel connected
When you work from home, your time mainly gets divided between your work commitments and your family. This may leave you with no time or scope to reach out to other professionals and feel connected to them. Over a period of time, you may feel socially isolated and even discontented. Neighbourhood Coworking can help you to keep isolation at bay. Suppose that you are a freelancer who has opted to work out of a coworking space in Delhi. You can easily bond with like-minded professionals with whom you co-work and share a sense of community. This is something that you will never find when working from your home.
3. Network in an effective manner
Every working woman needs proper networking opportunities to give her career graph a boost. The best part about working out of a coworking space is that you can come across individuals belonging to different fields and industries. Shared offices allow women to build an amazing network by connecting them with such a varied group of people. Additionally, you can also tap into the network of these people if needed. What’s more, you can even share and discuss ideas with your co-workers. When you are surrounded by a group of people possessing different kinds of skills and talents, it’s easy to get inspired and learn new things. Also, most coworking spaces organize events and programs for the people who work there. You can take advantage of such initiatives and give a boost to your career, especially if you are back to work after a break. When you work from home, you miss out on such possibilities.
Also Read: How to be Productive When You Have to Work From Home
4. You get proper space for professional meetings
Women entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and freelancers need a professional environment and space to make headways in their careers. Despite the policies and measures to promote gender equality, men still dominate India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Coworking spaces can solve many problems faced by women entrepreneurs at workspace. However, many women are forced to give up such a space due to pressures from society, industry, and family. Shared offices bridge this gap quite effectively. Whether you consider a coworking space in Gurgaon or London or in any part of the world, one of the reasons for their rising popularity is the professional environment they offer. Consider that you work from home and are required to have meetings with business clients regularly. A coffee shop or your home may not be the ideal place for meetings. But if you rent a seat in a coworking space, you can easily get on with your meetings in a professional environment.
5. Women discover new business opportunities
Shared offices are places where a lot of business opportunities are generated for women. Imagine that you work out of a coworking space for freelancers. You will be able to meet other co-workers who can provide you with links or referrals that you won’t have if you work from home. The feeling of belonging to a community works a lot in such places. Each individual will be trying to fulfill their work ambitions. At the same time, they won’t be inclined to compete among themselves as each one will be paving their own paths of success. This feeling of solidarity is hard to come across even in traditional offices where the sense of competition is much more pronounced.
The way ahead
It is estimated that the number of global coworking members will reach 3.8 million by 2020. As of 2017, this number stood at 1.74 million. These statistics are an indication that coworking spaces are becoming the workplace of choice. The increase in the number of coworking spaces for women across the world is another pointer to the fact that women find it advantageous to work in these flexible workplaces. If you too want to bring a transition to your work life by joining a coworking space, check out TheOfficePass.com. Apart from offering a host of facilities and services, it is a great platform where you can connect with different companies and professionals.
