hy·per·lo·cal
/ˌhīpərˈlōk(ə)l/
adjective
relating to or focusing on a small, well-defined community and its population.
With companies now more than ever allowing workers increased schedule flexibility, options to work from home, create their own hours, and take their duties remotely, we’ve seen coworking take the working world by storm—big cities embracing corporate shared workspaces like WeWork popping up every few blocks.
But what about the alternative? If we as consumers aim to support small, local business; local food, local vendors; and celebrate our unique local communities, shouldn’t we also strive for local workspaces? That’s a hard yes from us. Here’s why:
WFH is Lame
For starters, hyperlocal coworking spaces give workers who live outside the city, a local alternative to working from home or a coffee shop down the street, which truth be told, is a pretty grim, solitary professional existence.
In fact, research has shown us that people who work from their own home are 33% less productive than those working amongst other professionals.
Find your Niche
Coworking will never be a “one-size-fits-all” work solution. For this reason, workspaces have begun to cater to specific groups like female professionals, writers, or artists for example, to create a niche coworking experience. In a similar way, hyperlocal workspaces take a geographic location, and among it’s professionals of all backgrounds, cultivate a community in the most organic way. Going local with your workspaces means you become part of a tight-knit community, support your local homegrown businesses, and provide yourself access to an office space you can trust to provide for your specific needs.
A Better Community
A sense of community is something created by members—and not paid for or emulated in ads (like corporate coworkig spaces do). Hyperlocal workspaces bring neighborhood members together in the form of a professional community – through networking events, social gatherings and workshops, in addition to custom-designed flexible office space; these smaller, unique spaces defy corporate coworking norms by keeping things far from impersonal. Hyperlocal coworking spaces breed team spirit, comradery, and mutual support of other local businesses, in a space where people genuinely care about one another. You are neighbors, after all.
On a similar note regarding community, Boyd Baker points out:
“When folks of different stripes rub shoulders in a workplace, there is potential – potential for collaboration, potential for cross-promotion, and potential for new opportunities. This all benefits the worker bee, the business, and the community at large.”
Commute no more
Local coworking spaces are also changing the commuting game for many professionals who live a bit further from the chaos of company headquarters. With so many minutes wasted each day in a car, bus or train, (90 minutes on average if you commute to New York City) an office option closer to home gives you back that precious time, so you can spend it how you like.
Bridgeworks Long Beach is a hyperlocal coworking space just 40 minutes from New York City on Long Island—offering office space for rent, meeting rooms, networking events, small business workshops and much more. Bridgeworks Long Beach also features countless communal spaces, cafés, lounges and added bonuses like social bikes and ping pong. Corporate NYC commuters and digital nomads alike take advantage of the new creative hub to network, boost productivity, and of course, cut the commute time. Learn more at www.bridgeworkslongbeach.com.
