Coworking Ireland

This article in The New Yorker debates commuting.

“I was shocked to find how robust a predictor of social isolation commuting is,â€? Robert Putnam, a Harvard political scientist, told me. (Putnam wrote the best-seller “Bowling Alone,â€? about the disintegration of American civic life.) “There’s a simple rule of thumb: Every ten minutes of commuting results in ten per cent fewer social connections. Commuting is connected to social isolation, which causes unhappiness.â€?

What of coworking?

Coworking is certainly the province of the self-starting entrepreneur or the employee of a progressive company. There’s something enchanting about gangs of workers throwing off their bowler hats and umbrellas and trailing to coffee shops and coworking facilities. Perhaps a different place every day. With different clientele, different views. And much like homeworking, it’s not for everyone. Some people need structure and discipline in their day. Coworking should have the advantages of working in an office environment (with nearby workers, sustenance, business services available) without the disadvantages of homeworking (loneliness, keeping very odd hours and having meetings while only dressed in your underwear).

When you cowork, technically your work is always with you. You can work on the train, you work in coffee shops, you can work where you are comfortable. You know the people next to you are also “working” and their presence in a coworking facility is evidence they have bought in to the concept. The reduction in social isolation should be considered a primary benefit of coworking in addition to the other benefits of business services which may be present at a coworking facility.