| |DECEMBER 20199Consultants ReviewIt is evident, that organizations today have realized the need to cater to the employee requirements and hence co-working paves the way for both the employer and the employeeprovider is now no longer limited to just leasing the commercial space. Co-working spaces are also handhold-ing developers by marketing and rep-resenting other floors in the building to clients on conventional lease. Co-working players are curating exclusive experiences and engagements for the building tenants by providing Grade A amenities like Gym, Café, Creche and managing the complete building eco-system by bringing alliances, celebrat-ing events and integrating community focus for the occupants.2. Co-Working and Co-Living: Business expansion and portfolio di-versity are key elements for continual company growth. While co-working space providers have successfully met the supply and demand needs in In-dia's office spaces, this has now also extended to the residential real estate market wherein millennials are now getting used to the concept of Co-Liv-ing. Co-living is one of the alternatives to solving the woes of traditional ac-commodations faced by todays Gen Z generation and thereby a lucrative ap-proach targeting millennials offering a holistic solution with amenities and community engagement programmes. While this is still in its preliminary stages, it will definitely be interest-ing to seeing the concepts' popularity amongst the Indian audiences in 2020.3. Tech-Integration at Work: The traditional desk and cabins will likely be non-existent in the next few years and wearable technology and Artifi-cial Intelligence will gradually take over the co-working spaces trans-forming them into autonomous work-spaces. Smart access, smart meeting rooms and smart reception have al-ready ventured enabling cloud-based access system, facial recognition, and security monitoring on a real time basis. Virtual assistants, AI powered ambience and temperature control and touch screen-based collaborations are improving user experience and in-creasing interactivity. Voice controlled gadgets, wearable technology includ-ing wearable glasses, embedded chips, and wrist devices connected with In-ternet of Things (IoT) will take centre-stage and the connection of working professionals with fixed work desks will become a passé.4. Work near Home not Work from Home: With increasing popular-ity of Work-life balance, people pre-fer living closer to their workplace. It saves productive man-hours instead of losing time to traffic congestion for hours whilst commuting to work. Ow-ing to multiple locations and flexible work hours around the city, co-work-ing spaces help to reduce travel time. As part of employee friendly policies, companies and brands today have been allowing `WFH'. However, due to multiple challenges like distractions at home and unavailability of right infra-structure (high speed internet, printer, desk space), there is significant loss in productivity. This is encouraging more and more companies to explore `Work near Home ­ WNH' ­ allowing employ-ees to work remotely out of shared spaces while having access to effec-tive office infrastructure and ameni-ties. Co-working is a feasible on the go option saving time, readily accessible resources and available infrastruc-ture, without the employee having to worry about the operational hassles and focus on work.5. Customised Enterprise Solu-tions: Shared workspace providers are also creating and managing inde-pendent offices for companies along with running the co-working busi-ness. They provide A-Z solutions right from identifying a suitable space for construction, customization and pro-viding complete office space opera-tions. This is a hassle-free way for an enterprise to outsource the construc-tion and interiors thus allowing them to focus on running their business. Nowadays companies opt for custom-ized solutions to ensure employee sat-isfaction on priority at the same time integrating brand values and ethos amongst the existing workforce. 6. Collaboration at the forefront: Co-working spaces provide an ideal platform for members to network and leverage potential business opportuni-ties. With diverse companies working under the same roof, the interactions are seamless and collaborations/as-sociations are plenty. Often times, the collaboration also happens between the co-working space provider and the clients sitting within through re-tailing and sampling of products and services. The clients get real time feedback from the larger community and opportunity to test the market with varied demographics for the said product/service.With the emerging flexible work-space ecosystem, co-working has now become an integral part of the same. The workplace transformation has begun and the segment will see some major alterations in the next 4-6 years due to varied factors including frequently changing lifestyle, technol-ogy integration in daily life and work-life balance being on priority list. It is evident, that organizations today have realized the need to cater to the employee requirements and hence co-working paves the way for both the employer and the employee.
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