For more than ten years, Coworking has become a steady philosophy in modern work environments – invented and defined by American IT specialist Bradley Neubert in California’s Silicon Valley in 2005 and consequently implemented by high tech corporations like Google, Facebook or Microsoft and many start-ups, Coworking comprises five structural pillars:
- Community
- Openness
- Collaboration
- Accessibility
- Sustainability
In a recent interview with the Institute for Labor Research at the Faculty for Social Sciences of the University of Barcelona, Bradley Neubert explains how he came up with the idea of a Coworking philosophy: „I was wondering how I’d be able to combine my personal skill set, which was governed by individual preferences such as freedom and independence with the advantages big corporations can offer, like orderly structures and the sense for communal strive. The result was: Coworking. I could not possibly conceive a successful corporate labor force in any other way.“
Dr André Helf, CEO of Collection Group, determined early and consequently to provide Coworking spaces at COLLECTION Business Centers: „We are constantly monitoring trends and developments regarding modern work environments, especially in Silicon Valley and other parts of the world. Many of our clients are operating on a global scale. Particularly people working at start-ups, in the communications industry, the consulting business or as industrial designers get around and see how their colleagues and partners work in places like the Silicon Valley or in high tech centers like New York and Dubai, resulting in demand for similar space structures in Germany and other European cities as well. We accommodate our clients’ wishes as best we can. Most of our business centers offer Coworking spaces.“
COLLECTION is setting new standards in that market segment: „We don’t squeeze 15 people into one room – we have a limit of four to six workers per room in our business centers. Thus, we can assure a quite and yet inspirative creative environment, enabling users to enjoy stimulating exchange in a common space and the maximum use of sustainable infrastructural resources. As an additional treat, all our coworking spaces have window panels – which some of our competitors do not provide.“
Discretion in Coworking
When Bradley Neubert conceived Coworking as a concept to modernize work environments in 2005, one of his most pressing motives was the fear of isolation at the office: „Being by myself at a desk, whether in a cubicle or an office, generated a terrible feeling. I felt lonely. With people around me, there´s a whole different atmosphere, and I regard that as very inspirative. Then I realized that many colleagues felt the same way,“ he explains in an interview with the Institute for Labor Research at the Faculty for Social Sciences of the University of Barcelona.
A realization that Dr André Helf, CEO of Collection Group, fully understands: „People are different – not everybody needs a locked room and total quite in order to generate best results at work. We certainly offer offices where doors can be shut as well – however, our Coworking spaces are in strong demand. Many clients share Bradley Neubert’s experiences and develop their best abilities within a work community – often, by the way, with a mix of different business branches in one room. Most Coworkers regard their community as an incubator of creativity.“
At COLLECTION Business Centers, a very generously sized floor plan ensures that openness and discretion co-exist easily. „We can’t allow that people infringe on copyright laws or steal intellectual property by glancing over a coworker’s shoulder and at his or her screen. We have designed our Coworking spaces with those challenges in mind and try to eliminate such risks from the get-go,“ explains Dr Helf.
Accessibility – another important aspect for many Coworkers – is a strong part of COLLECTION’s business assistance package: If necessary, clients can order a telephone answering service as well as business mail reception and forwarding. COLLECTION staff meets and greets clients and helps with arranging catering or translation jobs. All Coworking clients have access to COLLECTION’s booking timetable for conference rooms or, if necessary, solitary offices for short periods of time.
Sustainability, another staple of the Coworking philosophy, comes naturally through sharing natural and infrastructural resources of rooms and energy sources for electricity or heating.
And last but not least: COLLECTION Business Centers offer common meeting places such as coffee kitchens with dining tables or relaxation lounges, where workers can mingle, chat and exchange ideas – areas extremely well-liked by many clients.
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