Rishi Das is an accomplished industry leader and a well-recognised entrepreneur. His interest in diverse sectors has led him on a journey of growth across talent acquisition, HR management & commercial real estate. This exposure has helped him create great value through the companies he has set up, namely CareerNet, HirePro & IndiQube. Through these ventures, in addition to transforming commercial real estate in India, Rishi pioneered the concept of collaborative campus recruitment and continues to play a very active role in fostering a strong industry-academia ecosystem in India. His balanced approach of empathy and business acumen is one of the many reasons that he has been invited to speak at many industry forums like NASSCOM, CII and TiE – of which he was also a Charter Member.
The Covid-19 epidemic has significantly changed workspaces in a variety of ways. Today, corporates are increasingly adapting to newer structures, health and hygiene standards, and spacing requirements of the workspaces. However, this current disruption caused by Covid-19 in doing so is expected to be transitory, as the coworking sector anticipates a resurgence once the economy recovers back to the new normal.
The coworking industry is made up of workspaces that are rented or leased as coworking spaces. Unlike standard offices, these typically include using associated services/equipment such as office chairs and desks, Internet/Wi-Fi connection, hardware, software, and other items. Businesses in this area provide non-residential premises with amenities and features for rent on a flexible basis. So, in the aftermath of the pandemic, what would be needed is more agility in operations, and in the post-covid future, the coworking sector will surely start undergoing several adjustments –
- Priority to health-
As health becomes a critical concern for both corporates and individuals, this has also found its way into consideration for workspaces. As companies shift from traditional offices to coworking spaces, measures related to health are given priority, even more so after the pandemic. Workspace partners like IndiQube have taken concrete measures to ensure the well-being of the employees. They now focus on providing their clients with the perfect coworking environment and take care of the health protocols required post covid.
- De-densification of the workspaces-
With the emergence of social distancing norms post covid, coworking space operators have started to provide a comprehensive business environment that adheres to these guidelines. Post-pandemic, this new beginning is marked by the de-densification of current space inventory where social distancing between employees is ensured in the structure of the coworking spaces themselves. Owing to this, the size requirement of the workspaces, as IndiQube has found while catering to their clients, has also increased.
- Eyeing on cost reduction-
The impact of the Covid 19 pandemic has been such that the expenses are becoming a significant worry for businesses. Now, coworking spaces have become an excellent way to save money. Enterprises are increasingly converting to these workplaces since they allow them to decrease their capital expenditures drastically. The costs involved in buying or renting offices for businesses were significant, but with coworking, these costs are reduced by a large extent.
- Embracing flexibility-
For most modern offices, flexible workplaces or coworking spaces have become a strategic solution. These spaces allow businesses to be more dynamic and frequently have settings tailored to their specific requirements. Because of the structural flexibility, adhering to social distancing norms and safety requirements also becomes easy.
- Increased adaptability-
Businesses now have become much more sensitive towards their workforce. Here, coworking spaces allow them to spread several smaller offices over different locations instead of one centrally centralized office. Through this, employees can profit from the close proximity of their workplaces to their homes, saving travel weariness, time, and expenses. As a result of the flexibility in office spaces in terms of locations, services, and structures, the coworking industry is helping businesses simplify their estate requirements.
Therefore, considering all these changes and the growing popularity of flexible workplaces throughout the world, it can be understood that coworking is becoming the new preference of businesses. The coworking industry has undergone significant changes and has become an inherent business world element from a fad to a thriving enterprise. Post the pandemic, the popularity of flexible workplaces continues to grow as more organizations adopt them. Without question, these places have become the new normal, and despite the challenges experienced during the pandemic, the industry shows considerable potential for the future.