Working in an office environment creates an interesting community, with its own culture, rules and expectations. You often experience a mix of various backgrounds and personalities with similar goals in running the business you work for.
Working in a co-working space adds an additional layer of complexity. In a co-working space, there are often many various businesses working under one roof. Instead of being bound by a common goal, you end up surrounded by individuals with different agendas and expectations. Here’s a guide to surviving work on co-working space without making a big social fake pas.
Check Your Noise Level
As with any office setting, you should at all times bear in mind of your noise level. Being in a co-working space can be very noisy. With multiple organizations working on different projects–often in an open concept environment–things can get really annoying. While you cannot avoid talking to peers or having phone conversations, try to bear in mind of your environment and keep the noise levels down.
Various Work Expectations
Sharing a co-working space is an amazing way to meet new people and network outside your organization. However, remember that there are different dynamics and work expectations in numerous groups in your office space. While your boss – or perhaps you are the boss – might encourage conversation with the other group, your new water cooler friend’s boss might have different ideas. Be sure to know other people’s job expectations so you do not overstep and cause disagreements.
Wi-Fi usage
One of the obstacles to using a co-working space is the challenge with internet connectivity. This issue appears to be a common challenge for working in shared spaces. Therefore, be sure you use wi-fi only for work-related tasks. Browsing on social media can be done either on data or when you leave the workspace to eat.
Cleanliness
With a million ongoing projects, it can be difficult to stay organized. In coworking spaces, cleanliness is more and more becoming a necessity. You do not want your paper to get mixed up with other people’s papers from other organizations, any more than you want to smell the food they left for days. Respect the people you share your environment with by cleaning yourself.
Share Shared Equipment
Printers, scanners and all the other bells and whistles that make up an office are now shared with different people and organizations. This can pose challenges in terms of shared equipment. If you have special printing needs– for example using letterhead to print letters or need to print hundreds of pages in one sprint– communicate this to the larger group.
As a courtesy, you should let people know if you have plenty of paper to print that will create piles of print jobs. That way people can print the one or two pages they need first. Letting people know that you need to print on special paper, or that you have a confidential document printing will stop accidents and frustration. Like anything, communication is key.
Be Punctual
Sometimes a brief update turns into a long, drawn-out meeting. That’s what happens in business. However, once you have booked a meeting room or private office in a coworking space, there may be other people waiting to enter the room. To be clear, they’ve paid for the space just like you have and you are now giving them money.
When your meeting is over, move it some place else or finish and schedule the next one. This courtesy will stop tension with other people and organizations in the shared space.
Popularity coworking spaces are growing rapidly, as an amazing way to facilitate freelancing, start-ups, and lower overhead for small businesses. By following the etiquette suggestions listed here, and trying your best to be polite, you can get the most out of a coworker’s experience.
