Upsuite FAQ for Coworking Members

A coworking space is an office, house, apartment, or commercial real estate building where multiple companies and individuals share offices, suites, and desks. Coworking spaces are an attractive option because they are benefit rich and more cost-effective than when a single company occupies a leased or purchased office space.

Coworking spaces meet the needs of individuals and corporations (known as coworking members) alike by being extremely flexible while providing all the necessary infrastructure and office services workers need. Each coworking space is unique in the culture and amenities offered. Some shared workspaces provide opportunities for networking, meetings, and collaboration, while others are sought out for their inspirational, artistic, or highly-professional atmospheres.

How shared workspace plays out in the market has thus far been broad and deep, made for introverts, collaborators, creative types, lawyers, tech talent, women- you name it. WeWork is one of the major brands in the space, as well as Regus/IWG and a few others. However, so far the market is relatively fragmented and pure, with room for anyone to start a new space. As the definition of coworking spaces expands, there will be room for coworking members, no matter what they might want or need.

A “coworker” (or coworking member) is someone who works in a coworking space or a shared office. Many different scenarios account for why someone is a coworker, which speaks to the flexibility coworking provides. Coworkers can work in the shared space full-time, part-time, or on a drop-in basis. They can be an employee of a company who leases an office suite in the shared workspace, a solopreneur who leases a desk, or even someone who occasionally drops into the shared space.

Coworking desks are an option coworking members can select when they want want to work in a shared space but don’t need a full office. Coworking desks are usually the least expensive way to cowork. At big office share companies like WeWork, the desks are located in larger open rooms and are available to plug in and go to work.

There are traditionally two ways to rent desk space when coworking: dedicated desks and open desks. Dedicated desks, or reserved desks, belong to a single coworker. Workers who rent a reserved desk get the same desk every day. On the other hand, open desks, also known as hot desks, are open on a first come first served basis and are more communal in nature.

Hot desks are usually the least expensive type of coworking desk and start at around $150/month and go up to $600/month depending on the market, location, and demand.

Coworking offices are an option people can select when they want more privacy and dedicated coworking space than you get with a coworking desk. There are traditionally two ways to rent office space when coworking: a single private office or an enterprise block of individual offices that comes with additional defined space.

Shared office space is beneficial because it is move-in-ready, comes with essential office services, and is adaptable to meet your changing needs. It is also more cost-effective than traditional office leasing options.

Shared work environments truly span the entire spectrum of work. From creative studio spaces for artists and podcasters to office space for lawyers, lobbyists, and accountants. Some coworking spaces are collaborative environments for the outgoing, while others are quiet spaces for introverted and focused workers.

There are big and open spaces, cozy spaces, dog-friendly spaces, women-only spaces, laid-back spaces, luxurious spaces, and industry or trade-specific spaces. You name it, and there’s a coworking space for it.

Because shared work environments are so diverse, we encourage you to work at a space for a day to see if it feels like a place where you can do your best work. Most coworking spaces and office shares offer free days or half days to try out their spaces. Take advantage of that offer and find the space that’s right for you.

Not sure you can commit? That’s why coworking is so great- it’s flexible. Most spaces offer short leases and the ability to change your space as your needs evolve.

Startup spaces are not uniform, even though they usually have common themes and elements of cliché (foosball tables, couches, sleep pods). For a while, most startup office spaces were rooted in the design of what is considered to be the original startup: Amazon. Legends swirl about doors used as desks and a general thrown-together atmosphere that came to be symbolic of their success and ability to stay lean and scrappy while weathering the Dot Com bust.

But today, as the startup industry has evolved and matured, so has the office space. Startup office spaces now come in any style you can imagine. The main takeaway from this evolution of office space should be to make sure that the space you choose represents your business, your customers, and your employees.

How much office space you need is entirely up to you, of course. It depends on the type of business, number of employees, the atmosphere you desire, and a host of other factors. But we can give you some background to help you think things through.

For much of our corporate history, 200 sq ft. per person has been the average allocation for planning purposes. Over the last several decades, companies learned to create cubes and make more efficient use of the space they had, and that 200 sqft number dropped. When coworking came along, the necessary space per person decreased even further.

Now, with coworking, the space needed per person is about 75 sq ft. This decline in space requirements comes from shared desks, smaller offices, and the option to rent a conference room or meeting space only when you need it. In coworking, you also don’t pay for common space like bathrooms, kitchens, closets, and hallways, areas which traditionally drive up space requirements and overhead costs.

There is a coworking directory, and it is called Upsuite. We help you locate and select the perfect office space for lease. Working with us gives you access to the largest selection of coworking options in your market, and we even help you negotiate the best price. We also offer benefits you won’t get when you book directly with a coworking space, including a dedicated Coworking Advisor, an exclusive discount, and our unique satisfaction guarantee.

Upsuite offers pricing discounts on qualifying coworking membership agreements with our verified partners. These pricing discounts are exclusive to Upsuite and are just one of the benefits of using us to book your coworking space.

To redeem this promotion, you must enter the promo code when you book the tour. Tours without promo codes will not be offered the discounted price. Once you enter the promo code, your discount will be applied to the first and last month’s payment and requires a 45-day notice of agreement termination to be paid.

There aren’t a ton of coworker synonyms rolling around yet, as the term itself formed around the people who are using coworking spaces, and coworking spaces are a relatively new thing for much of the working world. A similar term, most likely coined by Erlich Bachman, would be incubatee, which would be someone who works in an incubator. Coworker and incubatee have a lot of overlap, but are not the same thing. Incubators have an expressed relationship with their incubatees, whereas coworkers just pay rent.

Coworker synonyms are bound to crop up, if not erupt, given the pace at which coworking spaces are being built and adopted. But as of yet the only things we have heard or can speculate about would be, um, office sharer? That’s terrible. Let’s make a pact not let that one catch on. Frankly, we don’t even hear that many people say coworker, let alone a coworker synonym.