Why the Future of Coworking is Uncertain

Shout out to our friends at The Farm Soho for this lovely little review. Its always great to hear what the attendees and community has to say. We think that this piece really hit the nail on the head. Our industry is rapidly growing and expanding- we cant wait to see where the future of work takes us!

It’s fair to say that GCUC 2016 left many feeling a little disheartened as to the direction of coworking, so how did last week’s Global Coworking Unconference Conference (GCUC) rate with its attendees?

Thilo Utke, co-founder at coworking management software company cobot.me, said: “After hearing about the frustration and the raising antagonism between coworking and office providers in last years GCUC (and also Coworking Europe from peers) I was curious to see how it would play out this year.”

Utke added: “After the conference, I’m happy to see the tone has changed and now things are moving towards each other where both sides are open to learn. There will always be a need and place for all variations of shared work spaces ideally.”

It’s a sentiment echoed across the board and we caught up with some of the high-profile GCUC participants to ask:

HOW DID GCUC USA CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE CONCERNING THE FUTURE OF COWORKING?

Many attendees felt the event gave a more evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, vibe – but that the coworking sector is at a tipping point where it will soon impact on a range of industries.

More on that later.

The event itself was a unique and positive experience according to Jamie Russo, executive director at the Global Workspace Association (GWA), who said: “The clear theme at GCUC this year is that community reigns as the driving force behind coworking space owners that attend the conference. I’ve never been to a conference that exudes so much ‘emotion’ for lack of a better word. You simply don’t see the passion, the camaraderie and exuberant optimism for the future that you see at GCUC.”

Read the rest of the article here!