What MNC Virgin thinks of co-working spaces
"Co-working spaces and small business incubators are cropping up more and more in major cities and allow start-up entrepreneurs... physical interactions necessary for effective collaboration whilst sharing the cost of renting the space." PlusConcept SPACE is just that and not only catering to start-ups, but also successful entrepreneurs, advanced businesses or overseas set-ups in Singapore who are looking for a productive, secure, 24/7 office location. The location of our co-working spaces and shared offices on Purvis street in Singapore further adds to this character.
Source: VIRGIN ENTREPRENEUR
Why People Thrive in Coworking Spaces
Very interesting article about the benefits of co-working and shared offices. Check it out and if you are interested you are welcome to visit PlusConcept on Purvis - the unique shophouse co-working concept in Singapore. Why People Thrive in Coworking Spaces - Harvard Business Review
There seems to be something special about coworking spaces. As researchers who have, for years, studied how employees thrive, we were surprised to discover that people who belong to them report levels of thriving that approach an average of 6 on a 7-point scale. This is at least a point higher than the average for employees who do their jobs in regular offices, and something so unheard of that we had to look at the data again.
It checked out. So we were curious: What makes coworking spaces – defined as membership-based workspaces where diverse groups of freelancers, remote workers, and other independent professionals work together in a shared, communal setting – so effective? And are there lessons for more traditional offices?
To find out, we interviewed several coworking space founders and community managers, and surveyed several hundred workers from dozens of coworking spaces around the U.S. A regression analysis following our survey revealed three substantial predictors of thriving:
People who use coworking spaces see their work as meaningful. Aside from the type of work they’re doing – freelancers choosing projects they care about, for example — the people we surveyed reported finding meaning in the fact that they could bring their whole selves to work. They’re able to do this in a few ways.
First, unlike a traditional office, coworking spaces consist of members who work for a range of different companies, ventures, and projects. Because there is little direct competition or internal politics, they don’t feel they have to put on a work persona to fit in. Working amidst people doing different kinds of work can also make one’s own work identity stronger. Our respondents were given the opportunity to frequently describe what they do, which can make what they do seem more interesting and distinctive.
Second, meaning may also come from working in a culture where it is the norm to help each other out, and there are many opportunities to do so; the variety of workers in the space means that coworkers have unique skill sets that they can provide to other community members.
Lastly, meaning may also be derived from a more concrete source: The social mission inherent in the Coworking Manifesto, an online document signed by members of more than 1,700 working spaces. It clearly articulates the values that the coworking movement aspires to, including community, collaboration, learning, and sustainability. These values get reinforced at the annual Global Coworking UnConference. So in many cases, it’s not simply the case that a person is going to work; they’re also part of a social movement.
They have more job control. Coworking spaces are normally accessible 24/7. People can decide whether to put in a long day when they have a deadline or want to show progress, or can decide to take a long break in the middle of the day to go to the gym. They can choose whether they want to work in a quiet space so they can focus, or in a more collaborative space with shared tables where interaction is encouraged. They can even decide to work from home, without repercussion, if they need to meet a repairperson or deal with a family member need.
And while coworkers value this autonomy, we also learned that they equally value some form of structure in their professional lives. Too much autonomy can actually cripple productivity because people lack routines. Coworkers reported that having a community to work in helps them create structures and discipline that motivates them. Thus, paradoxically, some limited form of structure enables an optimal degree of control for independent workers.
They feel part of a community. Connections with others are a big reason why people pay to work in a communal space, as opposed to working from home for free or renting a nondescript office. Each coworking space has its own vibe, and the managers of each space go to great lengths to cultivate a unique experience that meets the needs of their respective members. Grind, for example, is a growing network of coworking spaces in New York and Chicago. Anthony Marinos, who oversees Grind’s marketing, community management, and member services, shared with us, “When it comes to cultivating our community at Grind, we’re all about the human element. We consider ourselves as much a hospitality company as we do a workspace provider. Our staff knows all of our members by name and profession, and we’re constantly facilitating introductions between Grindists.”
WeWork, which recorded a valuation of $5 billion last December, emphasizes how it “seek[s] to create a place you join as an individual, ‘me’, but where you become part of a greater ‘we.'”
Importantly, however, socializing isn’t compulsory or forced. Members can choose when and how to interact with others. They are more likely to enjoy discussions over coffee in the café because they went to the café for that purpose – and when they want to be left alone elsewhere in the building, they are. And while our research found that some people interact with fellow coworkers much less than others, they still felt a strong sense of identity with the community. We believe this comes from coworkers knowing there is the potential for interactions when they desire or need them.
So what are the implications for traditional companies? Even though the coworking movement has its origins among freelancers, entrepreneurs, and the tech industry, it’s increasingly relevant for a broader range of people and organizations. In fact, coworking can become part of your company’s strategy, and it can help your people and your business thrive. An increasing number of companies are incorporating coworking into their business strategies in two ways.
First, they’re being used as an alternative place for people to work. Michael Kenny, Managing Partner of San Diego-based Co-Merge, told us, “In the past year and a half, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the use of the space by enterprise employees. We have seen teams come in to use various on-demand meeting rooms. We have users from global companies of size ranging from several hundred to several thousand employees who use the space not only to allow their distributed workers to get productive work done, but also to attract employees who demand flexible workplace and work time.”
Grind is also witnessing growth in the number of remote workers who are becoming members. “We haven’t had to reach out to larger organizations, they actually tend to just come to us,” Anthony Marinos says. “We’ve had employees from Visa, journalists from the Chicago Tribune, and even people affiliated with large financial institutions all work out of Grind.”
Spending time away from the office at a coworking space can also spark new ideas. Rebecca Brian Pan, the founder of COVO and former chief operating officer of NextSpace, explained how Ricoh’s innovation team worked out of NextSpace Santa Cruz for several months to observe how people work and where they hit pain points. Based on member insight and feedback, and their own observations, the Ricoh team explored several new products that could help members in their daily work and chose the most highly rated product to pursue. From this effort, Ricoh later launched this product globally as their Smart Presenter, a paperless meeting solution.
Second, the lessons of coworking spaces can be applied to corporate offices. Just as it’s important to encourage flexibility and support your mobile workforce, there is an equally important reality of creating the right kind of work environment inside your own walls. But this doesn’t just mean creating open plan layouts or adding a coffee bar.
In reality, people need to be able to craft their work in ways that give them purpose and meaning. They should be given control and flexibility in their work environment — many companies are increasingly adopting the best planning practice of providing a 1:1 ratio (or close to it) of desk seats to seats in shared settings used for either collaborative work or quiet work.
Companies are also trying to enable more connections, helping people to interact and build community beyond work meetings. Coworking spaces are one place to look for guidance, as they regularly offer networking events, training programs, social events, and even summer camp. Some companies are going even, further, however. Rich Sheridan and James Goebel, founders of Menlo Innovations in Ann Arbor, Michigan, recently expanded their office space by 7,000 square feet so that so that start-ups and early stage entrepreneurs can work alongside Menlo programmers to spur community and innovation.
In a way, the company is reverse-engineering its office into a coworking space.
Our research — which is ongoing — suggests that the combination of a well-designed work environment and a well-curated work experience are part of the reason people who cowork demonstrate higher levels of thriving than their office-based counteraparts. But what matters the most for high levels of thriving is that people who cowork have substantial autonomy and can be themselves at work. Our advice to traditional companies who want to learn from coworking spaces is to give people the space and support to be their authentic best selves. The result will be employees who feel more committed to your organization, and are more likely to bring their best energy and ideas to the office each day. Even if it is corporate headquarters.
Gretchen Spreitzer, PhD is the Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business where she is a core faculty member in the Center for Positive Organizations. Her most recent work is looking at positive deviance and how organizations enable employees to thrive.
Peter Bacevice, PhD is a researcher affiliated with the Center for Positive Organizations at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and is Senior Design Strategist with the New York office of HLW International, a global architecture and design firm. He works with a range of organizations on projects related to workplace strategy, workforce flexibility, and engagement. Follow him on Twitter @Bacevice.
Lyndon Garrett is a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business studying relationship processes, group bonding, and meaningful work.
PlusConcept Phone Service
Since its inception PlusConcept has supported HOIIO as the best service for getting a local phone line for your business, name cards and marketing purposes. The HOIIO package comes with great features as forwarding extensions, text to voice voicemail announcements, business hour settings etc. As prime shared office and co-working space in Singapore - Hoiio phones are one of the best and state of the art solutions for our desk-space and office members.
Visit HOIIO and get 3 months free and other features through PlusConcept. Check out more details - click the button
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FLEX! Hotdesk @Dhoby Ghaut
Looking for a Hotdesk | Flexible desk - to pop in to get some work done? We are happy to announce our FLEX! concept and offer you a fantastic shophouse location right next to Dhoby Ghaut | Plaza Singapura. The location is available from 9-5pm every day.
The pricing is based on our PlusConcept 22 Days Plan & Day Pass Plan, but as Flex! is flexible we can offer short term options.
CONTACT US AND SECURE A FLEXIBLE WORKSPACE AT A PRIME LOCATION
Some impressions:)
The OFFICE - secure a private office
We have a wonderful window facing - glass partitioned private office available at PlusConcept. Get it for yourself or a team up to 6 and have a fantastic private office on of the best streets in town and one of the best for-working shared office spaces.
Contact us if you are interested.
YES! more SPACE... for a while
Hi. We worked very hard over Chinese New Year to create more SPACE.
Here is an exclusive PREview for you.
We managed to secure a very nice additional shophouse unit just opposite on 36 Purvis Street, which creates another ~14 desks and a small separate office, which are up for grabs….
We also managed to make an arrangement for a nicely set meeting/conference room at 12 Purvis, which can be rented on a time basis. There will be a booking calendar up soon.
We hope all this will further enhance our nice working environment and give a few more people the chance to sign up.
Have a look at the 16+36+12 Concept pdf and some floor plans here.
If you like to view or secure a desk just let us know.... the sooner the better. There might some opportunities at 16 and 36.
THANKS and a successful year of the goat!
MORE internet for the year of the goat
:) a good year to start with internet x2. We doubled the power of our already very good fire optic internet connection.Happy new year
Your Mailing Address 2015
To get you started smoothly and productively into the this year - we are giving you a $120 only for a full year of mailing address use and mail notifications. With an address at No 16 Purvis Street, that's hopefully a good start into the new year :)
Sign up through our instant sign up form
Prime Mailing Address
As it is the mission of PlusConcept to support the business start-up and development in Asia from a Singapore base, we are offering our clients and partners with some great market and business entry options. Our virtual office service is a very cool, real option to start out with a proper address at a great place with lots of expansion possibilities. You may want to drop in to work from here as well or get a fixed desk and a company logo at the door. The exclusive business essentials in style concept fully applies to this service. You will get a real address at a real office with real people/support at a really good location.
What’s the SPACE | VO STARTER
“your name” | “your company name” 16 Purvis Street, 2F, Singapore 188595
“your name” | “your company name” 16 Purvis Street, #02-00, Singapore 188595
Mail Notifications
Starting from $10 per month only
See Pricing page for details & instant sign-up
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Have a Productive 2015 | year of the sheep
Lets get this work year started. Have a productive 2015 and a prosperous year of the sheep!