Coworking spaces of the future will be drastically different than today as they will augment technology to evolve in terms of smart dynamic areas. Tech-enabled workspaces will reduce the physical touchpoints, boost the user’s experience, and attend to health and safety concerns. According to a report by CBInsights, the ‘office of the future’ will have autonomous cleaning solutions, contactless entry, and exit, sensors to count the users, along pre-entry biometric checks. At the other end of the spectrum, automation will also help the space managers improve productivity, foster a community, and simplify and streamline operations.

Coworking is a transformative force and an industry, but it’s also a movement that will fundamentally realign the tangible dynamics of office space. To survive a highly competitive landscape, coworking spaces of the future will be increasingly classified into niches. The specialization of office spaces would allow them to appeal to a particular target audience, create a strong community and differentiate the service. Field-centric coworking spaces will also become common for people from similar occupational fields to collaborate and share ideas.

The workspace of the future will be environment-friendly, livable, and green. A recent study led by Forbes revealed that Millenials and Generation Z consumers highly value sustainability. To that end, the design and development of the coworking spaces in the future will be governed by the principles of eco-friendliness and environmental protection. Coworking spaces will strive to adopt green practices that minimize energy consumption, set up recycling standards, save via reducing variable costs, and mitigate the impact on climate change via reduced CO2 emissions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally disrupted countless aspects of our work life; resetting major work trends for the future, redefining the physical dimension of workspace, and reshaping the realms of coworking. The onset of pandemic instigated remote and work-from-home (WFH) setup, which resulted in improved flexibility and increased freedom. With the unarguable benefits, WFH posed serious challenges given the potential compromise over the work-life balance, work schedules, and privacy; leading to “WFH fatigue” that manifested in the form of mental and physical stress.

Coworking spaces emerged as an intriguing alternate for pandemic-induced fatigue for WFH employees and helped solve the remote work dilemma. Such spaces thrive on the community, collaboration, and connection that effectively filled the void created by the pandemic. At the same time, the coworking model needed major transformation to maintain the health and safety protocols; ranging from floor plans to space design.

The COVID-19 has paved the demand for a new ecosystem and the coworking spaces of the future will respond with varied strategies. Flexible workspaces will employ the de-densification strategy, which essentially limits the number of people using one space. This could potentially be achieved by physical distancing, creating an efficient seating plan, or reducing attendance to alternating workdays. Furthermore, coworking spaces will invest in touch-free technology such as smart lighting, setting up sanitation stations, installing air purifiers, and arranging temperature sensors.

Coworking has evolved to become an integrated part of portfolio strategy; anticipated to grow in scale and scope in the future as the “new normal” of office space. Various trends within the coworking market will transform the landscape of the global office space. For instance, technological sophistication will transition coworking spaces into “virtual coworking”.

Virtual coworking is an online, simulated space that brings people together digitally with the bottom line of increasing productivity, accountability, and networking. The virtual coworking operators will provide an experience for coworkers to work together while operating from the comfort of home. The futuristic spaces will have robots carrying out customer service and administrative tasks. As automation gradually replaces the human workforce, bots will roam around, clean, deliver packages, conduct sales, and act as secretaries at the coworking premises.

Coworking spaces will become mobile, allowing coworkers to work while commuting. This will effectively remove the time spent on commute, inspire creative thinking, simultaneously increase employees' happiness and work productivity.