Co-working spaces, with flexible rentals and policies adapting to the new realities of work, are finding favour with large corporations and their employees
Rishi Das and Meghna Agarwal, co-founders of IndiQube, are now allowing client companies to offer their employees a pass to work from any of its co-working spaces close
to their homes
Image: Selvaprakash Lakshmanan for Forbes India
Last year, when the Covid-19 pandemic pushed companies and their employees into the new world of work-from-home (WFH), one of the biggest questions that gathered steam over the months was about the future of offices and co-working spaces. As both emptied of occupants, it was uncertain how and when they would fill up again.
A year—and a second wave of the pandemic—later, what seems to be emerging is a model in which both companies and employees prefer flexibility. While companies prefer the flexibility of office sizes, rent tenures and costs, given the economic uncertainties and the need to reduce overhead expenditures, employees prefer flexibility of when and where to work, given their need to cut out the daily commute and work closer to home. And co-working spaces—also referred to as ‘flexible spaces’—are likely to emerge as the winner, as they adapt their business models and offerings to suit both these needs. What was once considered options for startups and freelancers, is now gaining the attention of businesses of all sizes.
(This story appears in the 02 July, 2021 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)