The global pandemic has brought everything to a pause. It has not only affected economies, mental health and lifestyle but has also disturbed the equilibrium of the entire world. Businesses have been terribly affected and conventional ways of working have been severely challenged. Yet businesses are gathering courage and finding out new methods and creating new strategies to cope up with the crisis along with boosting up their efforts to sync in the new normal. With the long-standing phase of lockdown, the concept of working remotely from home has garnered much momentum. However, with the relaxion of lockdown and post a Covid crisis scenario, businesses will need to rethink and reinvent ways to make workplaces employee friendly yet safe and hygienic. Co-working spaces can be a great option here. Experts believe that the values of co-working – flexibility, cheaper costs – will kick in soon and the industry will see a decent upsurge when things stabilise.

In most of the developed nations, commercial and residential shared spaces have already been popular for many years. In the recent times, the concept has been familiar in India too. Co-working has now become the norm for millennials and freelancers, people who have a choice to work remotely, or for those who have just entered the start-up space and are looking for modern cost-cutting possibilities. Besides, the concept of co-working spaces is also redefining the work place culture and re-shaping cohabit opportunities in society.

The Rise in the Concept of Co-working
In the recent past, the co-working segment has developed as a fast-rising market providing professionals with technology and expertise and expanding to mainstream corporates. With the onset of major real estate companies in recent years in this space, there are currently more than 200 active players across the country and the trend is expected to grow.
In the coming years, smaller companies are believed to witness more mergers and acquisitions with the larger players. The large format co-working spaces, of 4000 to 5000 seat capacities may not necessarily be the need of the hour, as a lot of companies might permanently shift to remote working. However, people will still need to adhere to norms of social distancing and post the Covid era, the market will witness considerable growth. "Coworking is likely to see subdued demand over the next few quarters, but will also see the fastest revival - the pandemic pressures will eventually ease out many businesses will look o restart in these flexible workspaces," says Ashutosh Limaye, Director & Head - Consulting, ANAROCK Property Consultants.

In fact, some of the co-working spaces have already started to see slow rise in demands. Many businesses have already made up their minds to observe a lean and hybrid-remote work model post Covid. The idea is again to save the extra expenses and follow a simple work process. According to various industry sources, many companies are thinking of stationing their employees in different locations so as to maintain social distancing in the co-working campuses.

What is the Way Forward?
All said and done, it’s only if the real estate sector works in a more organized manner, co-working spaces can be a game changer. Considering the present scenario, the focus should be more on creating rules and regulations that can ensue transparency and ease of doing business. This will definitely drive results for industries and business growth post Covid.

But this is certainly going to take some time. It won't be that easy for businesses to bounce back easily but there will be more opportunities for co-working spaces companies to revive their businesses. Despite the pressure, businesses may feel temporarily, investor sentiment remains sustained and the commercial operators are hopeful of better days ahead. The pandemic is certainly not an end to the co-working culture as people would discover that the benefits of social gatherings in terms of emotional and intellectual fulfilment would be a crucial necessity for the overall health of a society.