Why is diversity so important in coworking?
Coworking, in it’s current format, is not a very old concept and over the past decade it has proven to be one of the most successful business and working models. More and more people are becoming part of this model due to the huge associated benefits such as; increased productivity, reduced costs and environmental friendly workspaces. According to research by Deskmag, the number of coworking spaces is doubling each year. The success of coworking is being adopted globally by individuals, freelancers, small and medium businesses. Very recently large and multinational corporations have also jumped into this model of interworking to reap the benefits.
Continuing the discussion about the coworking model and its benefits, we should first check the core values of coworking as described by Open Coworking to understand it in a better way.
Core Values of Coworking
- Community
- Openness
- Collaboration
- Accessibility
- Sustainability
These core values together add up to a new dimension in the working environment called diversity. Diversity is the product of community and collaboration blended together with openness. This is one of the key reasons people want to be part of a coworking environment. This allows them to diversify their vision and experience by collaborating with people from different backgrounds, interests, experiences and thinking.
What is Diversity?
Diversity is achieved when people from different backgrounds, perspectives and opinions get-together and share a feeling of mutual collectivism.
We can see that diversity emerges from the core values of coworking.
Diversity can be achieved by several different methods and is one of the top reasons behind opting for a coworking space.
According to Harvard Business Review, people are more likely to thrive in coworking spaces than in regular office settings. The point score was 6 out of 7 for coworking individuals; one point higher than that of the regular office workers.
Besides the other major reasons concluded by HBR for people thriving in coworking spaces is the feeling of part of a community. This is perhaps the core reason we opt for a coworking space along with its other benefits. Typically, diversity is either totally absent or has a very insignificant percentage in non-coworking places. We want to be part of a social community where we can interact with others from varying fields with unique ideas, experiences and thoughts. To push us out of our unconsciously created bubble.
Why People Opt for Diversity?
We want to be successful and diversity helps them achieve it in a better and faster way. Being in a diversified environment allows us to see things from others eyes and shape things from wider angles. We prefer to know things and do things which we don’t know but in a better way. The coworkers around us inspire us and compel us do things. Something not usually possible while working in a group of like minded persons or in solitude.
Another article by the Harvard Business Review suggests that increasing social connections at workplace results with increased sales. It illustrates how a team was able to attain an increase of 20% in sales just by a strategic re-positioning of a coffee machine and a new cafeteria place.
We all prefer to be part of a diversified community while we work to achieve our goals on a personal, business or company level. While we have the easy option of working from home with no additional expense or a solitary independent office, we still opt for community. We all seek a richer communal experience. Connection with others is the big reason we prefer community-based learning while growing through our experience. Join our friendly community today!
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