Coworking Brings Community to the Workplace

With more and more people working from home it isn’t surprising that some of them would start missing the camaraderie one can feel in a vibrant office spaces. If they aren’t lucky enough to live in community, or if they need a way to separate home and work life, coworking may be the answer.

The Coworking Community Blog defines coworking as: “a movement to create a community of cafe-like collaboration spaces for developers, writers and independents.”

Mother Jones ran an article on Coworking describing its origins in San Francisco:

So what is the lonesome office-less worker to do? In 2005, Brad Neuberg, a software programmer in San Francisco, hit upon a simple solution: He got a few friends together to share a rental space, as well as printers, fax machines, and wireless Internet, and—like a good start-up founder—branded his creation “coworking.” As the 31-year-old recalls, “I said, ‘Why can’t I have my cake and eat it too? Is there a way that I can have community and independence?’ It’s a false assumption that you can’t have both.”

Word of Neuberg’s San Francisco Coworking Space spread, and techies, writers, and entrepreneurs began dropping in. “I urged people to steal the idea,” he says. Today, there are 29 coworking sites across North America and a few more around the globe.

Coworking sounds like a great way to enhance social connections, share resources, and create a sense of community. Imagine the possibilities of creating mixed use spaces with both coworking and live-in intentional communities. A minimal commute with space for home and work and a sense of community all day long.

Coworking Resources:

• Coworking Wiki
• Coworking Community Blog
• Coworking on Wikipedia
• Mother Jones article on Coworking