For the older generations, the American dream was to find a good-paying job and move up the ladder until you were fortunate enough to retire.
Welcome to the future! Today's employees do not accept the traditional model of belonging to a company with unending loyalty. That has translated to more freelancers, consultants and independent contractors than ever before. It has also enticed more people to build their own company as opposed to working for more established entities. That means more people working from home or in coworking spaces instead of a traditional office with its rigid schedule.
Even large organizations see the value in this trend. Corporate giants like IBM are running major coworking pilots. Bank of America is testing giving branches a second purpose as a shared workspace. Verizon is taking the trend even further by building its own coworking spaces to expose its organization and employees to the latest technology and trends.
For all of these reasons, coworking is on the rise. The number of coworking spaces and workers taking advantage of the new work style is growing consistently, and the trend is expected to continue unabated.
The Future of the Coworking Industry
If coworking was considered to be just a “movement”, or a trend, it would eventually fade away. Coworking spaces have become a global phenomenon though.
Coworking became an attractive concept due to the increase in popularity not only because of economic reasons and the facilities all-Inclusive workspace perks but also due to being able to grow your business faster, improving your balance sheet, always having a modern office, flexibility to scale up or down quickly, networking with like-minded people, collaborating, better work/life balance, being more productive and creative all while gaining new business.
There will be roughly 5.1 Million coworking space members by the year 2022 within 30,500 spaces, according to GCUC. The shared workspace is the future workspace. The future is here today.
2019 Coworking Industry Events Calendar
As you would expect from a growing industry, a new year means a long list of coworking events and conferences. 2019's slate of events is perfect for you if you wish to learn about industry trends and networking with like-minded peers. They will be valuable for space operators, investors, and coworkers themselves.
January
What: FIRST Friday FREE Coworking Day
- When: January 4, 2019
- Where: 414 Olive Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
- THE SANDBOX hosts Free Coworking Friday! Check out the SANDBOX coworking space, offices, desks, conference rooms, and check out their Airstream meeting room! Kick-off your workday with coffee at 9 am!
What: Coworking Day 15th January 2019
- When: January 15, 2019
- Where: Gobowen Central Library and Hub, St Martins Road, Gobowen, SY11 3NP, United Kingdom
- Join them for their first co-working day of 2019 at Gobowen Central Library and Hub. Whether you work from home and fancy working alongside others now and then.
What: Nomad Summit - Chang Mai
- When: January 18-21, 2019
- Where: Chiang Mai, Thailand
- It's the conference for digital nomads, those who want to live differently, escape the rat race and the 9-5. It's for those who want to live free and take charge of their own lives, travel the world, be their own boss and start living their passions and making their dreams reality.
What: Conference Future Offices
- When: January 23-25, 2019
- Where: Metropolitan Pavilion, New York
- The Future Offices focuses on topics like interior design, office development, coworking, workplace technology, and of course health and wellness and the event capitalizes on pertinent industry drivers and provides unlimited networking opportunities.
What: GCUC LATAM 2019
- When: January 25-27, 2019
- Where: Paseo de la Reforma 250, Cuauhtémoc, 06600 Col Juárez, Ciudad de México, Mexico
- GCUC is the biggest coworking conference series in the world, and just like the industry itself, they don’t follow the rules.
February
What: Tapkey World 2019
- When: February 14, 2019
- Where: Vienna
- Join them for the ultimate educational and networking event where you can meet and interact with leaders from the shared workspaces, proptech, smart services, and digital access industry. Gain the insights and connections you need to advance your business by finding innovative ways to surprise and delight your customers.
What: Coworking Switzerland
- When: March 21, 2019
- Where: Vibration Workingshare, Route de Jura 49, 1700 Fribourg
- An 'unconference' format event run by the national association of the Swiss coworking movement. The proximity to skiing and unlimited Swiss Miss makes this a must attended event.
What: Coworking Unconference Asia (CUAsia) 2019
- When: February 19-22, 2019
- Where: Goa, India
- CU Asia is 5 years old. It’s time for us to grow up! That doesn’t mean we need to stop playing and having fun. It just means that it’s time to get serious about bringing that fun to the wider world.
What: WORKTECH19 Sydney
- When: February 20-21, 2019
- Where: International Convention Center, Darling Harbour, Sydney,
- WORKTECH19 Sydney is the forum for all those involved in the future of work and the workplace as well as real estate, technology, and innovation. Discuss the latest thinking on the growing importance of the workplace as a strategic tool for an organization’s business return.
March
What: World Workplace Europe meets Facility for Future
- When: March 20-22, 2019
- Where: Amsterdam, Netherlands
- World Workplace is the most longstanding and well-respected conference and exposition for facility management and related professions. Held annually in cities around the globe, World Workplace facilitates idea-sharing and knowledge exchange between professionals who support and sustain the built environment
What: #COWORK2019
- When: March 22-24, 2019
- Where: Mannheim, Germany
- The next Big coworking conference of 2019.
What: FREE COWORKING EVENT
- When: March 29, 2019
- Where: Edmonton, AB, T5K 1M9
- Enjoy our bright, open workspace. Work from a sitting or standing desk, a view of trees or a bean bag. Caffeinate with Earth Coffee and know that you're also feeding children around the globe.
April
What: FMA's World Workplace Asia Conference & Expo
- When: April 3-5, 2019
- Where: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
- This year's conference will focus on technology’s role in society and facility management with attention on digitization.
What: GCUC USA 2019
- When: April 15-17, 2019
- Where: Denver, CO, USA
- The Global CoWorking Unconference (GCUC – pronounced 'juicy') is the world’s largest global conference series. They bring together coworking aficionados, design enthusiasts, real estate experts, corporate executives, and experts to pow-wow on the future of work. This year's event will be held at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in downtown Denver. Greetly is a signature sponsor for the event.
What: Coworking Spain
- When: April 24-25, 2019
- Where: Paseo de Capoamor s / n, ALICANTE
- The most important meeting of coworking in Spain. A two-day conference with the whole coworking family.
What: FREE COWORKING EVENT
- When: April 26, 2019
- Where: Edmonton, AB, T5K 1M9
- Enjoy our bright, open workspace. Work from a sitting or standing desk, a view of trees or a bean bag. Caffeinate with Earth Coffee and know that you're also feeding children around the globe.
May
What: WORKTECH19 Los Angeles
- When: May 1, 2019
- Where: Convene, 333 S Grand Avenue, LA
- WORKTECH18 Los Angeles is a forum for all those involved in the future of work and the workplace as well as real estate, technology, and innovation. This event will attract some of the biggest and brightest names to debate, discuss and divulge the latest thinking on the Future of Work and the Workplace.
What: BCA CONFERENCE 2019
- When: May 14, 2019
- Where: London
- Annual conference of the Business Centre Association. The 2019 theme is Tomorrow’s world - the future of technology, innovation, and space.
What: FREE COWORKING EVENT
- When: May 31, 2019
- Where: Edmonton, AB, T5K 1M9
- Enjoy our bright, open workspace. Work from a sitting or standing desk, a view of trees, or a bean bag.
August
What: FREE COWORK DAY
- When: August 29, 2019
- Where: 4422 N. Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL
- Free Cowork day event. First come first serve.
September
What: 2019 GWA Conference
- When: September 18-20, 2019
- Where: Washington, DC
- The GWA, or Global Workspace Association, is hosting their annual conference in Washington DC at the MGM National Harbor Hotel.
What: GCUC UK
- When: September, exact dates TBD
- Where: London
- Only the second time GCUC has dropped in for fish'n'chips.
October
What: GCUC Canada
- When: TBD
- Where: TBD
- They call it "global" for a reason.
November
What: Coworking Day @ Women's Coworking Space Wonder
- When: November 1, 2019
- Where: Wonder Coworking, Prenzlauer Allee 186, 10405 Berlin, Germany
- If you are a woman and interested in business topics and (net-) working with like-minded, interesting and creative women, stop by, have breakfast with them, get your work done, and network with great women from different branches.
Summary
With something for every professional audience, make your New Year's resolution to attend one or more of these events to boost your knowledge of the coworking industry. As sponsors or participants of many of these events, the Greetly team looks forward to seeing you there!
Photo credits: Global Coworking Unconference