I agree that the Golden Rule is best - if everyone can stick to it!
Some people are neater in the habits than others. In a workplace this often shows up anytime you open the office refrigerator…a combination of neat little packages next to containers that have not been opened in weeks. And some people are fastidious in their office and sloppy at home. I knew a guy who was a prominent futurist. He wore perfectly tailored suits, drove a nice car and his office was neat as a pin. His apartment though was a total wreck.
So when people live together, this dynamic can assume a larger role. Often in group living the ‘neater’ people wind up doing more housework because they can’t abide the mess. And if someone is bothered by that and it goes unsaid, resentment can build up.
But in a setting where the golden rule is respected, then the sloppy person would consider that for not much effort the neater person would be more happy and the overall vibe would be better for everyone. And if the neat person didn’t get resentful and be too much of a ‘nanny’ then things can remain harmonious. Discussions of the problem can happen without triggering ‘fight or flight’ responses.
I lived in groups for years - on a bus, in rural and urban households and with a relatively large family. Everywhere I went some version of this dynamic played out, sometimes satisfactorily and sometimes not.
Such an interesting discussing. Thank you for that. I agree that having people know how to coexist whether that is in a coliving or coworking senario is the key aspect when creating a community and a shares space. Now more than ever people need to respect one another and be aware of sustainability.
Hello and thanks for the opportunity to contribute to this discussion. My responses are as follows:
my opinion on co-working in the public and private sector:
I am a longtime supporter of the concept.
my connection to coworking:
I have been a remote worker for years, and after moving from my hometown (Canberra, Australia) to another city (Split, Croatia) set up a coworking space and continue to provide services to remote workers living or visiting Croatia.
Changes over the last 3 months…
Unable to use our premises due to lockdowns (now over), but a steady trickle of new business, as a result of people wanting to escape the confines of more congested cities (mostly Europe) and have the Mediterranean lifestyle - work and vacation blend.
Look forward to learning more on the conference call.
Best
Tanja
Hi Tanja, nice to have you here on the platform, thanks for joining! I’m sure you will find this event and discussions useful, especially considering your new plans and projects around the remote work. (also, let’s catch up one of these days in Split)
Very interesting post and gives a great insight into your thinking behind what you are doing. You have shown that being a smaller space is no limitation to growth and evolution. I find what you have done with Co-Living very interesting and something that could be implemented here in Ireland which is only now really looking at doing it. Since the lockdown over here we have also started an organisation for spaces in the south-west to share ideas and provide support.
hello everyone (hello @nachorodriguez) - I am curious to know whether there is a role for emotional intelligence in the continued growth of these communities? I live just outside London and coworking facilities have been sprouting up around me. The ones that seem to be successful and ‘add value’ to the growth of the community are those where participants understand and practice the skill and the owners or facilitators of that space encourage EI behaviours. I would be interested in your thoughts. Thank you very much. Sandra
Good morning and thank you for the invite @RoRemote to this webinar this week which we are really looking forward to. To give some background on us. We are two sisters Barbara Nolan and myself CarolAnn Hickey who come from a commercial property background mainly based in Malahide in Dublin, Ireland. In August 2019 we setup a co-working office space in one of our units called M-Space Malahide. It holds 19 people and its has top floor panoramic sea views over the water so it is a truly lovely space to work, We were consistently at 50% capacity when Covid19 hit.
Once that hit all our members retreated home & we shut down. Slowly our members are returning this month and we have some new members trying it out. But like everyone its a hard time as we all have to start again and re-invent ourselves. But we are trying really hard to get our name out to our contacts, locals and many companies that are allowing staff to work remotely, whether part time or full time. So we are collaborating with many others to “build our network” and taking it day by day.
We are finding that people are trying to see what their company will give them to allow them to work in a co-working space so they don’t have to pay for it themselves. We are also finding that startups are very cautious to spend money on workspace when they can do it at home.
So both Barbara and I are really looking forward to the webinar tomorrow and the invaluable information we will get from like minded professionals in our area of business.
Hi Barbara and CarolAnn, lovely to have you here I know of your space, as good news travels fast on the Irish Grapevine! Thanks for your input - must be extra challenging for you as you had only been established for a a relatively short time before the pandemic. Pricing model flexibility for your members at the moment (with the marketplace chaos) I am sure is important but alongside the various safety measures needed. I bet it can be a fine balance.
We have space owners from India, Spain, The Netherlands, Indonesia and the USA joining tomo (and many more I am sure) - will be lots to share and learn!
A question for you - what/how has technology assisted in managing your space over these recent months of the crisis?
This reminds me of what the first coworking manager I knew always said as the ‘rules’ in the space. Make sure that everyone feels safe and treat others as you want to be treated. It seems to apply in so many communities of people globally!
Hi this is Robert Kropp. I have been traveling and working out of over 150 coworking spaces globally the past few years. Ever since my first experience in a coworking space, I knew that this is what I needed when I worked. I need to be surrounded by people most of the time to be my most productive and happy. Fortunately I am not alone and definitely agree that there is an incredible opportunity for the coworking industry right now with the number of people working from home.
Once able, more people that need to work outside of their home but aren’t forced to go back into an office all the time will be looking for the right communities and workspaces closer to home. Since the end of 2019 / beginning of 2020, we have been building Syncaroo in order to sync the locations, workspaces, availability and more to all the various marketing and sales platforms.
We want to not only eliminate the need for replicating so much of the same work across platforms but also make it easier for spaces to generate additional revenue as more people, employers, and startups are looking for short and long term workspaces.
Hi everyone - and sorry to be (almost!) late to the party! My interest in co-working is multi-faceted. I first became interested in the opportunities of co-working when I was conducting ethnographic research in a UK makerspace, which was also (informally at first) used as a hot-desk/co-working space. Subsequently - and in a different (small) UK city - two co-working spaces have opened. One is relatively established (about three years); the other was just starting to open when covid struck. Having become interested in the role of co-working spaces for small cities and towns (compared with bigger global north cities), I joined a four-country research team to put together a proposal to explore the role of rural co-working spaces. Unfortunately we didn’t get the grant, but I shared details of this event with the UK portion of the project team, so some of them may join today! My interest really is about the resourcing of co-working spaces with different kinds of capital, and what kinds of capital (financial, as well as social/cultural) are needed to effectively sustain such communities.
Hi Nadia - sorry for my tardy response, I’m currently working part time and have heaps to focus on and I’m not great at integrating new platforms into my life (than email, G-suit, slack groups etc).
If this is something that is still of interest / relevant then my request is you email me some dates / times that are on a Mon-Wed.
Thank you.
RE: What is the biggest change/challenge in the current crisis in your opinion?
A:
Biggest change: no customers for an unknown period (during lockdown / lift up and the next lock down), change in ‘what an office is for’, change in perceptions of potential customers (inc employers) of where/how/when people can work
Biggest challenge: as a small business with fixed overheads, it is ‘staying alive’ financially until the market has returned / has enough confidence to come ‘back out of their burrows / homes’ - and can choose additional places to work from - both in the next 6-12 months and longer term.
Firstly apologies as I couldn’t make the call yesterday as something came up with work and it clashed.
I know Barbara was on the call for the first hour and said it was great. We were both hoping to pop back on but our other Zoom call didn’t finish till 18:30.
Is there anyway we can get the recording from yesterday and who were the participants as we really want to connect with people straight away.
Thank you for your help in advance.
Kind regards
CarolAnn & Barbara
M-Space Malahide
Hey Barbara and CarolAnn - delighted you could attend! We will not be providing a full recording of the session. We are producing a detailed report and follow up actions - all available on here. Most of the key participants are on here also - Coworking Recovery Event - Edgeryders - so you can surf around and check it out in your own time. Best of luck with your space, Ro, Nadia, Maria and the Edgeryders team
I know of your space, as good news travels fast on the Irish Grapevine! Thanks for your input - must be extra challenging for you as you had only been established for a a relatively short time before the pandemic. Pricing model flexibility for your members at the moment (with the marketplace chaos) I am sure is important but alongside the various safety measures needed. I bet it can be a fine balance.