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Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

#21

Post by PakG1 »

htkibar wrote: post #10
ordinaryperson wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a cafe customer however it's irritating that you're taking up space for someone who'd like to sit down and drink their coffee. Or to put it another way: you're saving yourself money but (potentially) at the expense of the cafe owner who loses walk-in customers b/c his place is filled with barely-paying squatters.

Not entirely. The guys is a frequenter which means recurring revenue, and making the cafe look lively is something that gives it social proof. If the place has such a problem, they can mitigate it ofc. For example, you can limit the chargers for example (or arrange tables in a fashion that would limit it). Then the amount of squatters would be limited. Also, as another commenter said, you can just turn the wifi down…

Limiting the power outlets used to be effective until laptops started getting USB Type C. Now everyone can just bring a power bank to charge their laptop, right?

Charging for the Wi-Fi would probably have a greater effect, plus additional revenue stream, but then would this negatively impact the experience of other more casually sitting customers.

I would be curious to see the coffee purchase numbers for a working squatter vs other customers. If someone sits in a coffee shop for 6 to 10 hours a day, I can't imagine them buying only one coffee. People can get thirsty throughout the day. And if they get hungry too, well, that's additional revenue if the working squatter doesn't want to lose their spot just because they went for lunch. Or maybe they're on a roll, and can't afford to risk breaking their zone by going to a restaurant.

To determine whether the working squatter has a higher or lower sales per hour number would probably also depend on the cafe's sitting customer turnover per hour.

Re: Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

#22

Post by yakshaving_jgt »

I like some co-working spaces, but it really depends on the space, and the culture around that particular space.

DOJO in Kuala Lumpur stands out to me as a co-working space with an excellent culture.

I don’t use them regularly however, because I think they’re quite expensive.

It’s often much better to work from a library. Libraries are usually quiet, and in many cases free to enter, very beautiful, and have no social pressure to buy things every so often.

Re: Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

#23

Post by LandR »

No.

I work in a shared office, but sometimes I'm the only person from my company there.

So you can end up feeling like you are in someone elses office, especially if you are surrounded by larger teams. There is also very little to no interaction between teams, so when you are sitting there on your own a lot you can start to feel like the weird outsider.

Re: Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

#24

Post by expathacker »

The problem with co-working spaces is that there are too many techies there. Sometimes they're fascinating and you want to engage with them, which destroys concentration (in a semi-welcome way), but more often-than not they're populated by self-involved extroverted tech-bros who won't shut up.

Home-office, cafes, parks and libraries have been my offices of choice as a remote worker for the past decade.

Re: Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

#25

Post by ndnxhs »

ordinaryperson wrote: post #3
itake wrote: post #2

I tend to prefer cafes over co-working spaces, because I get about the same value (maybe even better coffee!), but at a much lower price.

As a cafe customer however it's irritating that you're taking up space for someone who'd like to sit down and drink their coffee. Or to put it another way: you're saving yourself money but (potentially) at the expense of the cafe owner who loses walk-in customers b/c his place is filled with barely-paying squatters.

I have heard libraries are the perfect working places for when you want to get out of the house. You don't have the pressure to keep buying stuff and they usually have plenty of space.

Re: Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

#26

Post by fergie »

I've tried these 3 things:

1) Having my own office:

   PROS: no disturbances

   CONS: (even) more expensive than you might think, especially once you
   factor in heating/internet/coffee. Kind of boring with absolutely
   nobody to talk to and nothing going on. Can be a bit weird to invite
   people over.
2) Working from home:

   PROS: easy to get to work

   CONS: more distractions than you might think, especially if you have a
   family with small kids, because people tend to treat you as if you are
   "at home" rather than "at work". You really need to have a dedicated
   space in your house to even consider this. Some expenses (internet,
   electricity, general upkeep) are not be tax deductible since you are
   at home. Not super good for mental health since there is no real need
   to leave the house for days on end, and all your stressful work stuff
   becomes associated with your home.
3) Working in a coworking space:

   PROS: Nice space, (some) cool people, meeting rooms, a degree of community

   CONS: Easy to be "alone in the crowd". You need to make a concerted
   effort to make friends, and have people to eat lunch with.

Re: Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

#27

Post by flickster »

I work part time for a startup in a coworking space and I enjoy it most of the time.

We have are usually 6-8 people in one room and it's not very noisy.

I like to have people around that work in the same field as me, but are not part of my company. Also, we have coworking wide lunch or talks a few times per month, so you get to know the people and their startups. It's quite interesting in my opinion.

I'm also the kind of person that prefers talking in person to voice/video chat.

The coffee is also quite good there.

Re: Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

#28

Post by pimterry »

As a solo developer, I love it.

I focus much better out of the house, I get a _lot_ of value and sanity out of the day to day social bits that I'd otherwise miss out on outside of an office environment, and I don't find it particularly distracting.

Good noise cancelling headphones especially have worked great for me - I've got Jabra Evolve 80s bought by a previous employer, and they've super effective. It helps that it's only light background chatter at worse - the culture where I am is pretty clear about not having any more than that at the desks (go get a meeting room, or go chill out in the cafe instead).

Re: Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

#29

Post by lexda15 »

I prefer working at a cafe. Coworkings remind me about awful jobs at office spaces. At a cafe, I feel more freedom that I can change my working place every day. If you pay for coworking, you have to go there every day. What is the difference between an office job and a freelance job? With freelancing, you can work from anywhere. Startups and corporates move in coworking because it might be cheaper to rent.

Re: Ask HN: Do you enjoy working in a coworking space?

#30

Post by maaaats »

arihant wrote: post #19
PakG1 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> These clubs offer a lot of stimulus for freelancers and you're surrounded by people of various different fields, which sparks interesting discussions. Could you elaborate on how cafes frequented by other designers and developers, or even private member clubs, differ from coworking spaces? I'm ignorant and am unclear how coworking spaces would not also offer a lot of stimulus for freelancers and not let you be surr…

Because coworking spaces are full of employees of other companies, while working cafes are usually solo people working in super focussed fashion. There's no foosball table. No startup kool-aid. It's the same with private members clubs. Usually it is the founders, investors, lawyers, reasonably successful people in whatever field they work in. The networking opportunity is immense, and it's usually a better atmosphere…

Your posts are very black-and-white. Not all coworking spaces are kool-aid-foosball, nor are all cafes filled with successful people just longing to network with you.
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