The future of coworking space in India

THE FUTURE OF
CO-WORKING
SPACES IN INDIA
A Service Operations Management Perspective
NOVEMBER 27, 2021
SHASWATA MUKHERJEE
77219874615

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I would like to express my sincere gratitude to a diverse group of individuals and organiza-
tions for supporting me throughout my studies. First of all, I wish to express profound grati-
tude to my primary faculty member, Professor Furqan Shaikh, for his enthusiasm, patience,
helpful information, practical advice and unceasing ideas that have helped me tremendously
at all times during the course including the times in my research. Another faculty member
who has helped me to understand the basics of research, Professor Supratim Kundu. His im-
mense knowledge, profound experience and professional expertise in Research Methodolo-
gies have enabled me to complete this research successfully. Without their guidance, this pro-
ject would not have been possible.
I also wish to express my heartfelt thanks to the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management
Studies – Global Access School for Continuing Education for accepting me into the post-
graduate diploma program. Also, I am grateful to all the faculty of the Post Graduate Diplo-
ma in Operations Management, NGASCE for their continued support throughout the course.
I am also thankful to the non-academic university staff for their consistent support and assis-
tance. Without their support, the course would not have been completed on time.
Finally, last but by no means the least; I also thank everyone in the NGASCE Batch January
2020. It was great interacting with all my peers during the last two years.
Thanks for all the encouragement!
Shaswata Mukherjee
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................... 2
OBJECTIVE........................................................................................................................... 4
Primary Objective................................................................................................................ 4
Secondary Objective(s)......................................................................................................... 4
Research Question(s)............................................................................................................ 4
SCOPE .................................................................................................................................. 5
Within Scope....................................................................................................................... 5
Out of Scope ....................................................................................................................... 5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY....................................................................................................... 6
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 8
Pre-Pandemic World ............................................................................................................ 8
Insurgence of Pandemic........................................................................................................ 8
VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) World ............................................... 9
The Way Ahead................................................................................................................. 10
WORK SETTINGS ............................................................................................................... 11
Work from Office .............................................................................................................. 11
Work from Home............................................................................................................... 11
Hybrid Working ................................................................................................................ 11
Work from Anywhere......................................................................................................... 12
SERVICE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT............................................................................ 13
Service Design .................................................................................................................. 14
Service Decoupling............................................................................................................ 16
Infrastructure as a Service................................................................................................... 17
Co-working Space.............................................................................................................. 18
CO-WORKING HISTORY .................................................................................................... 20
CO-WORKING SPACES....................................................................................................... 22
Individual Perspective ........................................................................................................ 22
Business Perspective .......................................................................................................... 22
Co-working Space Provider (Host) Perspective...................................................................... 23

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Co-working Spaces in India ................................................................................................ 24
RESEARCH DESIGN ........................................................................................................... 27
Overview.......................................................................................................................... 27
Research Strategy .............................................................................................................. 27
Extent of Researcher Interference ........................................................................................ 27
Study Setting..................................................................................................................... 28
Unit of Analysis................................................................................................................. 28
Time Horizon.................................................................................................................... 28
Target Audience ................................................................................................................ 28
Survey.............................................................................................................................. 29
Questionnaire .................................................................................................................... 29
DATA COLLECTION........................................................................................................... 30
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ....................................................................... 36
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................... 56
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................. 58
Books............................................................................................................................... 58
Journals ............................................................................................................................ 58
Websites........................................................................................................................... 58
ANNEXURE ........................................................................................................................ 59
Index of Figures................................................................................................................. 59
Index of Tables.................................................................................................................. 59

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OBJECTIVE
Primary Objective
The primary objective of the dissertation project is to assess the future of co-working spaces
in India. With the insurgence of the pandemic, the working scenario has undergone a sea
change. The study is done on the post-Covid-19 work situations within the geographic bor-
ders of India.
Secondary Objective(s)
Delving deep into the primary objective of the dissertation project, a few secondary objec-
tives are also identified that are useful to establish the primary objective. The secondary ob-
jectives are as follows:
• To determine the relationship between work from anywhere and work from home.
• To determine the relationship between work from anywhere and work from the office.
• To establish the connection between co-working spaces and infrastructure as a ser-
vice.
Research Question(s)
To establish the primary as well as the secondary objectives, the following research questions
are needed to be addressed:
- Is the hybrid model feasible for every class of services sector?
- Is the hybrid model of work the new normal in post-pandemic India?
- Is hybrid working here to stay? If yes, what is the future of co-working spaces in In-
dia?

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SCOPE
Within Scope
The project desires to explore the future of co-working spaces within India. Therefore the
scope of the dissertation is co-working spaces within the geographical boundary of India.
Since the concept of co-working is relatively new to India, it is intended to extrapolate global
data to the Indian scenario. Also, the infrastructure as a service concept has been included in
the scope of the project.
Out of Scope
The parameters or topics that are beyond the scope of this dissertation paper are listed here-
under:
• The manufacturing industry is excluded from the study.
• The real-estate properties used for commercial spaces are excluded from this study.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The pandemic had hit the world and made people and organisations shift focus towards the
betterment of life. The mayhem of the pandemic made the world think more compassionately
towards each other. This shift in mindset induced many innovations to make peoples life eas-
ier.
Confining in a single place during the prolonged strict lockdown, the business organisations
came up with innovative solutions for work setups. As physical proximity was discouraged,
businesses renewed their strategies towards employee wellbeing. Human resources are now
being seen as human capital and not just workers. Work from the office was replaced by flex-
ible forms of work setups across industries.
Services industries coped with the pandemic situation relatively well. Many new players en-
tered the market even during pandemic times. Governments are also providing impetus to-
wards the IT-enabled services industries. India, being one of the most populous countries,
fared comparatively well in handling the pandemic situation.
With a large youth population, India has seen exponential growth in the start-up ecosystem.
The concept of co-working was gradually flowing from the western countries since 2012
which caters mainly to budding entrepreneurs. However, a boost in the co-working space in-
dustry was seen after India moved towards opening up from strict lockdown restrictions.
In order to understand the future prospects of co-working space in India, this project is under-
taken. The project focuses on the services operations perspective. It runs through qualitative
aspects of the co-working space concept to understand its merits and future in India. A survey
was designed to study the perspective of the workforce on work mode preferences.
First-hand data were collected from 67 respondents through the online survey to generate
meaningful inferences. Various aspects were studied through several parameters. The survey
revealed that the workforce today is willing to shift to a hybrid model of working. With the
work-life balance being one of the important deciding factors, the workforce are preferring a
Co-working space setup as well. Co-working spaces provide the flexibility of location which
is a boon to the workforce that had migrated earlier to larger cities in search of work.

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87 per cent of the respondents are likely to recommend Co-working spaces as an alternative
to working from the office. The respondents have rated the overall experience at the Co-
working spaces a 7.8 on a scale of 10 points. This shows that a Co-working space is emerging
as an attractive option within the workforce in India.
Although the survey has provided meaningful insights to the research questions, we still need
to continue the study as the Co-working space or hybrid working setup is still a nascent con-
cept in India. Continuing the study will help to gather larger data which in turn will help in
understanding the subject further.
In the annual exercise of finding out new and relevant words for the year,
www.collinsdictionary.com has identified “Hybrid Working” as one of the words of the year
2021. The list was published in November 2021. This shows that a larger workforce around
the globe is accepting the new working style.
To sum it up, this project seeks to understand the inter-relatedness of the various working
styles.
“The industry is young. The future is bright.”
~ Steve King at GCUC

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INTRODUCTION
Pre-Pandemic World
Proximity was the most relevant and used concept in businesses before the pandemic of this
century had hit the world. People used to work in offices, with colleagues sitting next to each
other. Sharing a workspace was also common during that time. Meetings were conducted in
person and being near to one another has been quite normal. India, being one of the most
populous countries, experienced human contact to be primary while doing business irrespec-
tive of the industry. As compared to their global counterparts, Indian companies employed
more staff for similar jobs.
Insurgence of Pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic had hit India in the last quarter of 2019-2020. With national lock-
down imposed in March 2020, businesses faced new and unique problems. The logistics in-
dustry, tourism industry, hospitality industry and the associated industries were hit by the
pandemic the hardest. Lockdown in itself was a never before experienced challenge for the
businesses, where physicality in operations was inevitable. Every business within each indus-
try was impacted either largely or on a smaller scale.
Businesses in the services industries are employee-centric and process-driven. The pandemic-
induced restrictions had made the workforce immobile and confined them to their own hous-
es. This led to a huge drop in revenue generation for the companies. Some had taken
measures to lower their costs by implementing various strategies; some had to shut down
their operations altogether.
The multi-national IT giant companies such as Wipro, TCS, Infosys, etc. have implemented
easier working culture to manage the situation. Employees were allowed remote access to
their respective workstations to work from home. During the period, the companies adapted

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to the newer setup and replaced in-person communication with online meeting platforms. As
a result, IT solutions companies were thriving during the lockdown. Cisco Webex has seen a
surge in demand to thrice its capacity in the early days of lockdown. The company has wit-
nessed 25 billion meeting minutes in April 2020 alone. 1
The education sector was badly hit as no infrastructure was there to conduct classes online.
Some private schools did manage to start with online platforms, but the government schools
and their pupil had to compromise with the situation. However, tertiary education thrived as
many online courses platforms started offering certifications from universities. This new form
of education and examination was a boom for the exam platform provided by Mercer Mettl.
They saw a boom of 70 – 80 per cent in demand during the pandemic period. 2
VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) World
VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of general conditions and
situations. VUCA is an acronym first used in 1987 and then gained prominence in the strate-
gic leadership concepts in the business environment since 2002.3
The VUCA concept is rep-
resented pictorially below:
Source: Internet
Figure 1: VUCA
1
https://www.techradar.com/in/news/cisco-webex-triples-capacity-and-doubles-down-on-security
2
https://www.livemint.com/education/news/covid-19-pandemic-prompts-indian-colleges-to-rush-to-online-
exams-11589811171204.html
3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatility,_uncertainty,_complexity_and_ambiguity

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The 4 components of VUCA have become extremely relevant during this pandemic situation.
• Volatility: The Covid-19 pandemic has brought in rapid changes in the business envi-
ronment putting the organisations on their toes to adapt to such situations.
• Uncertainty: As the future is not predictable due to an increase in the covid cases, the
businesses were required to introduce defence mechanisms to counter the uncertainty.
• Complexity: Due to the imposition of restrictions by the Government, the normal flow
of work was disrupted and as a result operating a business became a complex affair.
The businesses implemented newer workflow models to simplify the process.
• Ambiguity: This is one of the most important components in this situation. The busi-
nesses faced ambiguity regarding the opening up of the economy, retaining work-
force, continuing with newer process flows and returning to pre-covid normalcy.
The Way Ahead
Innovations are the ideal tool to pave the way ahead. Artificial intelligence has gained a lot of
importance and emerged as a good opportunity in this decade. The installation of chatbots in
the hospitals during the lockdown has helped to bring technology and human together. The
government also, with its various new policies, encourages organisations to implement peo-
ple-friendly technological initiatives.
In the current scenario, people are ‘working from home’, some are even ‘working from any-
where’, which has led the organisations to re-work their human resource policies, office
space requirements, etc. Innovative, employee-friendly methods are devised and implement-
ed. The concept of co-working is one such innovation.
These environmental and policy changes garnered the need for this dissertation project.

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WORK SETTINGS
Globally, businesses provide various work model options to their employees for the smooth
functioning of the job.
Work from Office
The most common working environment across the world is ‘work from office’. The business
provides a workstation to each employee with some added amenities. This working model is
applicable across all business sectors. The physical office acts as a place where employees
can interact, interchange ideas and build professional networks. The presence of the human
factor in this setup helps to create a unique business culture.
Work from Home
Work from home is another equally popular work setting where the employees address their
professional requirements from the comfort of their home. This setup lacks the collaborative
aspect as the employee is working alone. Although this setup encourages family time, the
employee gets detached from colleagues. This is used as a makeshift arrangement in times of
need by the employee.
Hybrid Working
Hybrid working is a mixed working set-up where employees can work from either office or
home based on work requirements. The employees are provided with working facilities such
as laptops, communication devices, etc for better reachability. In this setup employees get the
best of both worlds, ‘work from office’ and ‘work from home’.

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Work from Anywhere
As work from home has a limitation of being in the location of service, on the part of the em-
ployee, a newer concept of working from anywhere is on the rise. Working from anywhere
allows an employee to work from multiple locations without being confined to the deputed
place of posting. This setup helps the employees move freely across locations as per their re-
quirements.
Work from anywhere is encouraged with the introduction of the concept of co-working. Co-
working spaces provide office spaces along with office amenities at various locations to facil-
itate ease of working.
Figure 2: WeWork Research Results
Research done by WeWork in February 2021 reveals that the preferred mode of work is
working ‘not’ from the office. Every second person seconded that they prefer to work 3 days
or less in an office for their jobs, a graphical representation is presented above. Three out of
four employees would choose freedom to work from their preferred locations even in ex-
change for some perks offered by their organisations.4
4
https://www.wework.com/ideas/research-insights/research-studies/the-future-of-work-is-hybrid#full-report

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SERVICE OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
Operations Management is the branch of management that deals with the administration of
best practices, policies, procedures, etc. within an organisation to create the optimal level of
efficiency. This discipline deals with the daily management of business processes. Historical-
ly speaking, the concept of operations management was prevalent since the middle ages. Pri-
marily associated with the manufacturing industries, operations management, now, includes
both manufacturings as well as services sector.
Services are intangible products such as an action, a deed or an effort that is offered to the
customer at the point of sale. The primary features of services are intangibility, inseparability,
intervention, perishability and variability. The outcome that is presented to the customer is an
intangible entity that is produced by the human intervention of the organisation offering the
service where the service and service provider are the same and the offering is perishable
with time. The price, the quality, homogeneity, the demand etc. vary for every service pro-
vided.
Product and service, though, seem to be quite the poles apart but lie in a tangibility spectrum.
The following figure depicts the nature and flows within the spectrum. The spectrum is di-
vided into five categories: pure service, major service, hybrid, major product, and pure prod-
uct.
Figure 3: Tangibility Spectrum
Pure Service
Major
Service Hybrid
Major
Product
Pure
Product
Tangible
Intangible

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Service operations management is the management of the operations that deliver services.
This division of management can be associated with all service-related categories within the
spectrum. Pure services are services that do not involve any tangible good. Pure products
have only tangible goods and no services attached. Hybrid is a category that deals with equal
parts of tangibility and intangibility.
Service Design
Bill Hollins used Service Design for the first time in the 1990s when he started to offer ‘ser-
vice design’ services to businesses that required such designs. Service design is the activity
that involves planning and organising the people, the infrastructure and the material compo-
nents of a service to improve the interaction between the service provider and the customer.
Jenny Winhall defined service design with a four D’s model viz., discover, define, develop
and deliver, at a service design seminar held in October 2004.
Before finalising the service design, businesses must adopt certain principles of service de-
sign. The first of all is to consider the purpose of service, expected demand and the ability of
the service to satisfy customers before the designing of the service. The next in line is the
customer needs analysis. Then comes the definition of the values to be added to the service.
And finally, stakeholder feedback for improvement.
Service design approaches differ for each service based on the nature of the service provided.
Generally, four service design approaches are prevalent.
1. Production Line approach: Here the process is mostly automated and is confined to a
linear design. It is similar to a production line where one end is for input and the other
for output.
2. Customer as a Co-producer approach: In this approach, the customer is also involved
in the process design. Certain processes within the system are done by the customers
themselves.
3. Customer Contact approach: In this design, the involvement of the customer varies
with the sub-systems. One sub-system may involve the customer in its process; while
the next sub-system may be entirely done by the business.

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4. Information Empowerment approach: This is an IT systems centric approach, where
most processes require the use of information technology.
Planning of a service design does not complete without the planning of the layout of facili-
ties. As the service and the service provider cannot be separated, the facility plays an im-
portant role in the service design. Before designing the layout of the facility, some aspects
should be taken into consideration.
• The business policies, resources, service capacities, security issues etc should be ac-
counted for.
• Accessibility to the location, transportation system, connectedness etc must be aligned
with the service design.
• Service elements, complementary and supplementary services, demand services, ser-
vice delivery process etc should also be kept in mind before designing the layout.
Based on the above design aspects, the final service blueprint is prepared. A service blueprint
is a diagram or a pictorial representation of the aspects related to service and its delivery,
from both the viewpoints of the organisation and the customers. The service blueprint has
five components to it.
1. Customer actions: This component describes all the actions taken by the customer in
the whole service design process in chronological order.
2. Onstage employee actions: This summarizes the actions taken by the front-end em-
ployees of the organisation. These actions are performed in the presence of the cus-
tomers.
3. Backstage employee actions: This component talks about the actions taken by the
back-end employees to process the customer actions.
4. Support processes: This component deals with the supporting processes that uphold
the main service process.
5. Physical evidence: As the term suggests, this deals with the physical evidence of the
service delivery.

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Service Decoupling
The activities in the service delivery process are fragmented into independent tasks to be per-
formed separately. This is known as service decoupling. Decoupling provides a range of ben-
efits such as dedicated staff for dedicated work, increased efficiency, increased service con-
formity, reduced variability, smaller manageable tasks etc. The front-office and back-office
operations are thus decoupled.
The front-office operations are visible to customers and the workforce remains in direct con-
tact with them. The front-office operations are the face of the business. On the other hand, the
back-office operations are performed to process and support the tasks initiated by the front
office. The service decoupling is depicted in the following diagram below.
In the diagram, there are 4 actors viz customers, front-end employees, back-end employees
and support staff depicted in red, blue, green and yellow colours respectively. The actions are
depicted as continuous lines and the process and information flow are shown through the ar-
rowheads. The dotted lines depict the functions of the support staff.

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Figure 4: Decoupled Service Design
Infrastructure as a Service
Infrastructure refers to the basic tangible asset that facilitates businesses to conduct their reg-
ular operations. The most common form of infrastructure is office space. The point of deliv-
ery, the logistics, the back-end operations location etc., all come under the umbrella term, ‘in-
frastructure’. In this world of technology, systems and servers are also the infrastructures for
the business.

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Traditionally, infrastructure falls under the pure tangible product category. However, with the
advent of IT systems, intangible services have also come under the ambit of ‘infrastructure’
such as cloud computing. Software as a Service or SaaS is a technological advancement
where the software solution is provided as a part of the service delivery through cloud com-
puting. Here the IT structures are the infrastructure that is delivered through the internet.
In recent times, businesses came up with a new definition for infrastructure where tangibility
is not the defining factor. As we know that all the factors, in the long run, are variable, busi-
nesses brought in innovations to evolve the concept of infrastructure, that incorporate the fea-
tures of both tangibility and intangibility. Real estate, is a classic example of tangible infra-
structure that has introduced innovative Co-working space concept as a part of its evolution
towards intangibility.
Co-working Space
Co-working space is an ‘infrastructure as a service’ concept where services in the form of
serviced office spaces are leased out to businesses by real estate providers. The co-working
space is a tad different from the traditional offices. It is a neutral space where different people
come together to work either individually or in a group. The people working in a co-working
space normally doesn’t work in the same company.
Real estate investment has been a capital budgeting exercise for any business whatsoever tra-
ditionally. With these co-working spaces opening up, businesses are gradually moving to-
wards using real estate as a service and not a capital expenditure. The major aspect of the
shift is cost-effectiveness and flexibility.
Capital budgeting requires immense planning and huge investments thereafter. Establishing
the business at the right location becomes hugely capital dependent. Co-working spaces offer
solutions to that at a nominal service rate. The flexible nature of the co-working spaces busi-
ness model only helps the service takers.
“A coworking space has two main actors: users and hosts. Users are those who take ad-
vantage of all the benefits of a coworking space. Users have needs the hosts try to satisfy. It

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can be said that users are the so-called customers and the hosts are the sellers of their ser-
vice.” 5
(Jongseok Seo, 2017)
On the tangibility scale, Co-working spaces come under the Major Service category. The
businesses that offer co-working spaces offer some goods in addition to the infrastructure as a
service. The goods offered, however, are a part of the service as a whole. The tangible goods
that are offered are the space to work at. The intangible aspect of the service is a comfortable
workspace, cafeteria, support staff, work from office experience, collaboration, etc.
There is a clear demarcation of the front-office and back-office processes within a co-
working space. The front-office staff and processes revolve around the customers where cus-
tomer handling, prospective customer tours, cafeteria management and the like are the major
functions. The back-office processes are marketing, infrastructure planning, support process-
es, vendor management, etc.
5
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/8/1494

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CO-WORKING HISTORY
Co-working started its journey in Berlin, Germany as a hackerspace, C-base in 1995. After
two decades, co-working has become a global phenomenon. The hackerspace was a not for
profit workspace where computer enthusiasts can come together to share knowledge, infor-
mation, equipment, etc.
Co-working got its name from Bernard DeKoven. His and the dictionary meaning to the word
was the same. It was collaborative working where different people from different back-
grounds work together. The term is now interchangeably used for the space they work in.
In the year 1999, 42 West 24 opened up in New York. They provided short-term flexible desk
space and a working environment. However, the collaborativeness was not much focussed.
The software company, however, initiated the shift towards the co-working space as we know
it now.
In 2002, two Austrian entrepreneurs started Schraubenfabrik for the new and budding entre-
preneurs to come and work together at a place where like-minded people work and probably
can collaborate. In a true sense, this is the first co-working space sans the name attached to it.
The San Francisco Co-working Space was opened up in 2005 by Brad Neuberg. The space is
intended to maintain the freedom of working independently whilst providing the structure and
community of working with others. It is the first-ever co-working space ever set up. Howev-
er, it is replaced by the Hat Factory in 2006. Hat Factory is the first full-time workspace re-
ferred to as a ‘co-working space’. Even a Coworker Wiki was launched to help people and
co-working spaces connect by the celebrated inventor of Twitter hashtags, Chris Messina in
2006.
The following graph shows the projected growth in the co-working space industry. The report
was a forecast report, Number of co-working spaces worldwide from 2018 to 2020 extended
till 2024.6
6
https://www.statista.com/statistics/554273/number-of-coworking-spaces-worldwide/

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Figure 5: The growth of Co-working Spaces over time
The concept only expanded to the rest of the world as time passed by. In 2012,
91Springboard started its operations in India, pioneering the co-working spaces business in
the country. With startups booming in India, the real estate needs increased manifold. Co-
working spaces cost-effectively addressed the need and spread their footprint in all the major
cities in India. The smaller cities are also witnessing a rise in the co-working spaces business-
es.
With the world affected by the pandemic, many businesses in India are moving towards co-
working space as a solution to their real estate needs and to provide flexibility of work to
their employees. 3M India has signed a 2-year deal with WeWork to allow its employees to
work from any WeWork facility across the country.7
7
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/property-/-cstruction/as-pandemic-stretches-on-
companies-look-at-co-working-spaces-avoid-commitments/articleshow/86746549.cms?from=mdr

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CO-WORKING SPACES
Individual Perspective
Co-working spaces are office environments for independent professionals and are rapidly
spreading worldwide. One main reason professionals opt to work in such spaces is the oppor-
tunity for social interaction, which diminishes the isolation independent professionals often
struggle with.8
Entrepreneurs having just started operations get a much-required help of working space. They
can enjoy the perks of working from the office. This not only boosts productivity but also
creates a good impression in the minds of the clients. The amenities provided in addition to
the working space helps seamless working condition without any disruptions.
Like-minded individuals get to know each other in such a collaborative workspace. Expan-
sion can be planned with individuals working in the same co-working space but catering to
different business functions.
According to the journal published in the Harvard Business Review in September 2015, indi-
viduals pointed out the benefits of working in a co-working space:9
• No politics in the workplace
• No pretence at the work desk
• Minimal competition
• Harmony in working culture
Business Perspective
Hiring workspace and renting an office are two poles apart concepts. Renting office involves
cost strategy, location strategy, capacity planning, infrastructure planning and other employ-
ee-centric decisions. However, while hiring workspace, cost strategy and employee-centric
8
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00581/full
9
https://hbr.org/2015/05/why-people-thrive-in-coworking-spaces

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decisions are necessary. The business receives the flexibility of location, timings, etc. which
are more convenient than renting an office.
Another dimension to it is energy efficiency. When multiple businesses are working from a
single unit, the carbon emission, electricity consumption, fuel consumption, etc. goes com-
paratively down. This inspires businesses to take up CSR activities and act responsibly to-
wards the growth of society.
Co-working Space Provider (Host) Perspective
Apart from the workspace, desk, internet, power, etc., Co-working spaces offer a plethora of
other benefits to their co-workers. A 2012 article by Anne Kreamer points out the aspects that
make co-working spaces more attractive.10
• Collaborative networking opportunity
• A dynamic ecosystem for work
• Resourceful
• Foster innovation
• Ease of use
• Location advantage
• Trendsetter
The workspaces are offered on lease by the day or month. This flexibility allows the users to
use only when needed and not invest huge capital in renting offices. The co-working spaces
are offering other types of real estate solutions as well, such as: 11
• Meeting Room
• Conference Room
• Desk Space
• Office Space
• Open House (companies offer workspace as a public amenity, typically for brand-
building)
10
https://hbr.org/2012/09/the-rise-of-co-working-office?registration=success
11
https://hbr.org/2018/09/why-companies-are-creating-their-own-coworking-spaces

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• Campsites (invitation-only spaces where teams from one company co-locate with
peers from another)
• Stand-alone locations (for individual clients)
• Start-up Zone (only for start-up entrepreneurs)
The community of co-workers are expanding their network base worldwide. Global Cowork-
ing Unconference Conference started its work in 2012 and have over 8000 attendees in its
30+ conferences held at different parts of the world. They focus on the future of the co-
working arena.12
Co-working Spaces in India
India is seeing a paradigm shift towards using co-working spaces. The increase in the number
of new entrants are immense and the number is growing by the day.
Company
91Springboard Co-working Space in India
Locations
Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune,
Goa, Bangalore and Hyderabad
Amenities
Board Games, Power Backup, Seamless Internet, Hassle-
free setup, Conference Room
EBITDA (31.03.2020)
EBITDA of the company has increased by 44.28 %13
12
https://gcuc.co/
13
https://www.tofler.in/91-springboard-business-hub-private-limited/company/U74900DL2015PTC287010

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Company
WeWork Co-working Space in India
Locations
Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Noida and
Pune
Amenities
Conference Room, Wellness Room, Enhanced cleaning
services, Event space, Recreational games
EBITDA (31.03.2020)
Company
Awfis Co-working Space in India
Locations
Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad,
Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Chandigarh, and Ahmedabad
Amenities
Coffee and Tea, Printing and Scanning, IT Professional
and Support, Office Supplies
EBITDA (31.03.2020)
Company
Innov8 Co-working Space in India / OYO Workspaces
Locations
Mumbai, Gurgaon, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Banga-
lore, Delhi, Noida
Amenities
Onsite Staff, Cleaning Services, Micro-Roasted Coffee,
Unique Common Areas, Air Conditioning, High-Speed
14
https://www.tofler.in/wework-india-management-private-limited/company/U74999KA2016PTC093227
15
https://www.tofler.in/awfis-space-solutions-private-limited/company/U74999DL2014PTC274236

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Internet, CCTV Camera
EBITDA (31.03.2020)
EBITDA of the company has increased by (data not
available)
Company
Awfis Co-working Space in India
Locations
Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Thane
Amenities
Coffee and Tea, IT Professional and Support, Office
Supplies, Seamless Internet, Secretary, Air Condition-
ing, Security
EBITDA (31.03.2020)
Listed above are the major players of Co-working Space providers in the Indian market. As
the market is in its nascent stage, it is attracting new players of various sizes.
16
https://www.tofler.in/redbrick-offices-limited/company/U74900MH2015PLC270895

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RESEARCH DESIGN
Overview
A Research Design is a plan which is prepared to outline the blueprint for data collection,
analysis of data and the methods to adopt for the research question to be answered. The re-
search questions for this project as identified are as follows:
- Is the hybrid model feasible for every class of services sector?
- Is the hybrid model of work the new normal in post-pandemic India?
- Is hybrid working here to stay? If yes, what is the future of co-working spaces in In-
dia?
Research Strategy
Research strategy is the plan for data collection. The basic research strategies are the experi-
ment, survey, ethnography, case study, grounded theory, action research.
The strategy adopted for this project is the survey with a questionnaire.
Extent of Researcher Interference
The extent of the researcher interference determines whether the research study is correla-
tional or causal. The standard measures for this element of research design are minimal, mod-
erate and excessive.
The extent of researcher interference is minimal for this project i.e. the responses received are
free from any biases from the researcher.

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Study Setting
Research can be performed in a contrived or non-contrived setting. The non-contrived setting
is used when the study is done in the natural environment where events proceed normally. A
contrived setting refers to the artificial environment created to conduct research.
This project is done in a non-contrived setting.
Unit of Analysis
The unit of analysis is the level of aggregation of the data collected during the data analysis
stage. The general units of the measurement are individuals, dyads, groups, organisations,
and cultures.
The unit of analysis for this project is taken as an individual as the responses of each re-
spondent is taken up individually.
Time Horizon
Data collection can be done as a one-time activity or an ongoing process. The one-shot data
collection is known as a cross-sectional study. Continuous data collection is known as a lon-
gitudinal study.
The time horizon for this project is short and thus cross-sectional study is undertaken.
Target Audience
The target group for the survey is iterated below:
• Geographic: India

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• Demographic: 18 – 60 years; Male and Female; working class
• Psychographic: Unspecified
• Behavioural: Unspecified
Survey
The survey is one of the methods of research strategy. Here an audience is targeted and ap-
proached to acquire details from them. It is one of the many primary data collection tools
used by researchers. The data gathering methods may differ for different researches. The
methods are questionnaire, interview, observation, etc. where the researcher directly interact
with the targeted respondents and collects first-hand data.
The questionnaire format of data collection is opted for this project.
Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a structured set of pre-determined questions asked in a pre-defined flow.
The respondents answer the questions, mostly, on their own either on a pen and paper mode
or online via a computer or mobile device.
For this project, a set of 34 questions were prepared and distributed among 8 sections. The
questionnaire was circulated using the Google Forms platform over emails; WhatsApp mes-
sages; LinkedIn posts and messages; to a limited group of individuals within the target audi-
ence.
The survey fetched 67 responses till midnight of 24th
November 2021.

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DATA COLLECTION
Data Collection is a process of collecting primary or secondary data for research purposes.
For this project, the primary data was collected through a questionnaire-based survey.
Questionnaire Format:
The title of the survey is ‘A survey on Work from Anywhere’.
Section 1: The first section is the call to action for the respondents. The respondents were
made familiar with the objective of the survey.
Figure 6: Image from Section 1 of Survey Questionnaire
This questionnaire is been prepared to assess the future of working from any-
where. The data collected will be used to obtain meaningful inferences for the
assessment for the dissertation of Shaswata Mukherjee towards completion of
Post Graduate Diploma in Operations Management. The data collected
through this survey will be used for the dissertation only (educational purpos-
es). No personal data will be asked from the surveyed. This survey tries to
gather opinion and, thus, the questions do not have a correct answer. This will
take approximately 5 mins to complete the survey.

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Section 2: This section aims to understand the participants of the survey. It consists of 9
questions related to demography, status, qualification etc.
Q1: Which age bracket do you fall into?
Q2: What is your highest educational qualification?
Q3: Are you employed currently?
Q4: Which sector are you employed in?
Q5: What is your Net Salary?
Q6: Which city are you working in?
Q7: Is your city of origin and city of work different?
Q8: If yes, what is your city of origin?
Q9: What is the approximate distance (in km) between your city of origin and city of work?
Section 3: This section is aimed at understanding the current work scenario of the partici-
pants of the survey. It has 4 questions about work mode, transportation etc.
Q10: What is the type of commute do you use to travel to the office daily?
Q11: How long does it take to commute to the office?
Q12: Which mode are you working on since lockdown?

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Q13: Given a choice, which mode of work would you prefer?
Section 4: This section finds out the knowledge of the participants about the concept of
working from anywhere. It consists of 4 questions about the perception of the respondents
towards location decisions.
Q14: Would you like to shift to a smaller city for work?
Q15: Would you prefer to shift residence to any other city given an option?
Q16: Would you prefer to work in a shared office?
Q17: Would you prefer to work from exotic locations?
working from home. It has 3 questions catering to the cost-effectiveness of working from
home.
Q18: What is the cost of living in the city of work compared to the city of origin?

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Q19: What additional costs are involved for working from home?
Q20: What problems do you face working from home?
working from the office. It asks 4 questions to understand the perks of working from the of-
fice.
Q21: Do you have an overtime allowance?
Q22: Do you have transport provided by the employer?
Q23: Do you love the breaks with colleagues?
Q24: How long do you spend, if working from the office, on a normal day without overtime
out of home?

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Section 7: This section finds out the knowledge of the participants about co-working spaces.
It has 3 questions about the familiarity and acceptability of the respondents to the concept of
co-working spaces.
Q25: Have you heard of co-working spaces?
Q26: Would you be interested in working from a co-working space?
Q27: How would you like to work together with colleagues of different organisations?
Redirecting Question: This question seeks permission of the participants to continue to Sec-
tion 8 where the questions are related to their co-working space experience.
Figure 13: Image of Redirecting Question from Survey Questionnaire
Section 8: This section finds out the experience of the participants about co-working spaces.
It is an optional section only for those participants who have some practical experience of
working at a co-working space. It consists of 7 questions.

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Q28: Would you recommend others to work in a co-working space?
Q29: Did you get support from the Co-working space provider during a crisis?
Q30: What infrastructure did you get from your preferred co-working space?
Q31: How would you rate your experience working at a co-working space?
Q32: How would you rate the services available at a co-working space?
Q33: How would you rate the quality of staff from the co-working spaces?
Q34: How would you rate the pricing model of the co-working space?

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DATA ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION
Data Analysis is a process wherein the data is structured, cleansed and transformed into a us-
able format. Data Interpretation is the next step in the process wherein the data is reviewed to
assign some meaning to it to arrive at a relevant conclusion. The data can be interpreted ei-
ther quantitatively or qualitatively.
Quantitative data interpretation techniques involve the use of statistical tools such as the
Mean, Standard Deviation, Frequency Distribution, Regression, ANOVA analysis, etc. Quali-
tative data interpretation is done in two ways namely, analysis of cardinal data and analysis of
ordinal data.
This project has collected the primary data in the form of ordinal data set. The questions
asked were close-ended and were based on methods of Likert scale, 10-point scale, Interval
scale, etc. Interpretation techniques such as the Venn diagrams, charts, graphs, etc. are em-
ployed to interpret the data collected from the 67 participants.
The primary objective of this study is to assess the future of co-working spaces in India. The
survey intends to ascertain the answers to the research questions aligned to the objective of
this project. The survey garnered quite meaningful responses in answering the problem at
hand.
The data shows that workforce migration is a standing issue in modern-day India. People
from smaller cities and towns migrate to bigger metros within India. The statistics show that
out of the 67 people surveyed, more than 50% of individuals shifted for work opportunities.
Enumerated below are the inferences are drawn on the data. The survey had overall 8 sections
catering to different aspects of this project. Each section consists of a few questions that
fetched 67 responses through sections 2 to 7 and 16 responses in section 8.

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Section 2 Interpretation
Section 2 data reveals the relevance and appropriateness of the survey.
Figure 15: Sector-wise Survey Population
As the survey was circulated over different social media platforms, it is found that 96% of
respondents are millennials and neo-millennials. 96% of the respondents are employed which
shows that the survey targeted the right audience. Further, it is found that 69% of the em-
ployed respondents cater to the services sector.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the survey not only targeted the right audience with the
employment status but also is moving in the right direction to answer the relevant questions.
Comment: Co-working is a newer concept in India and attracts the working millennials and
neo-millenials attached to the services sector.

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Supporting Data:
Table 1: Age of respondents
Age Bracket No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
21 – 30 39 58.21
31 – 40 25 37.31
41 – 50 2 2.99
51 - 60 1 1.49
Table 2: Employment status of respondents
Employment Status No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Employed 64 95.52
Not Employed 3 4.48
Table 3: Employment Sector
Sector No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Government 11 17.19
Health Care 1 1.56
Manufacturing 7 10.94
Self-employed 1 1.56
Services 44 68.75
Note: This data represents the respondents who are employed (eliminating the unemployed
force)

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The survey also captured data on the workforce migration to bigger cities in search of work
and better facilities.
Figure 16: Workforce Migration
It is found that around 55% of the respondents have shifted their base to a new city for their
career aspirations. The data points out that around 43% of the migrated workforce have
moved to a city more than 1000 km away from their hometown.
Comment: With co-working spaces not restricting themselves in metro cities only, the Indian
workforce can shift to a collaborative working style from their hometowns as well.

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Supporting Data:
Table 4: City of work of respondents
City of Work No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Same as City of Origin 29 45.31
Different than City of Origin 35 54.69
force)
Table 5: Distance of place of work and place of origin
Distance No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Less than 100 km 9 25.71
100 – 499 km 6 17.14
500 – 999 km 5 14.29
1000 km and above 15 42.86
Note: This data represents the respondents who are employed and has shifted to a different
city.

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Section 3: Interpretation
The employed workforce is required to travel to their job location.
Figure 17: Commute Time
The data suggests that around 28% of the workforce are spending more than an hour to com-
mute to their workplace. However, only 45% of respondents have their workplace within a 30
minutes travel time.
Comment: Hybrid working mode may be useful to reduce travel time and increase produc-
tivity. The presence of co-working spaces at multiple locations within a city can curb the
commuting problem for the workforce.
Supporting Data:
Table 6: Total time spent on travelling to workplace
Commute Time No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
< 30 mins 29 45.31
30 mins to 60 mins 17 26.56
60 mins to 80 mins 12 18.75
80 mins to 120 mins 4 6.25
> 120 mins 2 3.13
force)

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The survey finds out the preference of the workforce about the work style in the post-
pandemic times.
Figure 18: Work Style Preference
70% of the respondents have a flexible working option to either work from home or office or
both. This has led them to spend time with their family thereby leading to a change in their
perception. Delving deep to understand the workforce mindset about their preference for
mode of work, it is found that only 23% of the respondents are willing to work from the of-
fice whereas 58% of the respondents are willing to adopt a more flexible and innovative work
style.
As evident from the graph above, the workforce having confined to working from home dur-
ing the pandemic is trending towards work from anywhere style.
Comment: People are moving more towards hybrid setup or opting for work from anywhere
as evident from the data. Working from anywhere allows the workforce to change their loca-
tion as per their needs and preferences. Co-working spaces can facilitate work from anywhere
with their multi-city pass usable across the country.

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Supporting Data:
Table 7: Mode of work since lockdown
Mode of Work No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Work from Home 32 50.00
Work from Office 19 29.69
Hybrid 13 20.31
force)
Table 8: Preferred mode of work
(if the choice is given to respondents)
Preferred Mode of Work No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Work from Home 12 18.75
Work from Office 15 23.43
Hybrid 14 21.88
Work from Anywhere 23 35.94
force)

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The survey helps in understanding the perception of the respondents towards the work from
anywhere concept.
Figure 19: Work Location Preference
From the graph and the supporting data, it can be inferred that respondents are reluctant to
select a small town as a work destination alternative due to lack of facilities and work envi-
ronment. However, when given a choice, the respondents are willing to work from anywhere
from other cities, exotic locations or shared offices.
Comment: Infrastructural development in the smaller towns may instigate people to move to
their hometowns to work as well. Co-working spaces can play a major role in the real-estate
development in smaller towns. Also, the undecided respondents may choose to work from
anywhere if world-class amenities and state of the art facilities are provided.

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Supporting Data:
Table 9: Work from Anywhere
Work from: Yes No May be
Small Town 5 21.74% 11 47.83% 7 30.43%
City other than City
of Work
11 47.83% 5 21.47% 7 30.43%
Exotic Location 13 56.52% 3 13.04% 7 30.43%
Shared Office 10 43.48% 8 34.78% 5 21.74%
Note: This data represents the respondents who are employed and willing to work from any-
where.

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The survey points out the additional costs are involved while working from home. Such costs
include work setup costs, IT system-related costs, internet and electricity costs. Among these,
the cost for high-speed internet and work desks ranked at the top of additional costs incurred.
Apart from the financial aspect, respondents also faced operational setbacks while working
from home. Internet-related issues and electricity issues ranked at the top of the list.
Comment: A co-working space facility removes the hurdle to setting up and maintaining a
workstation at home. It also provides the necessary working conditions and amenities that
negates the probability of incurring issues related to internet and power and some extent
technical issues.
Supporting Data:
Table 10: Additional costs involved for working from home
Expense Items No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
High-speed internet 61 91.04
Laptop 30 44.78
Smartphone 23 34.33
Work desk 40 59.70
Laptop table 28 41.79
Headphones 28 41.79
Webcam 14 20.90
Mouse 16 23.88
Dongle 15 22.39
Note: The total number of respondents for each item is 67.
Table 11: Problems of working from home
Problems No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Power cut 31 46.27
Internet issue 50 74.63
Technical issue 29 43.28
Hardware issue 17 25.37
Note: The total number of respondents for each item is 67.

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The survey identified the perks of working from the office for the respondents who are em-
ployed and are willing to work not from the office. It is seen that perks like overtime, trans-
portation are not a deciding factor to opt for other working modes. The same trend is being
reflected in the qualitative aspect, breaks with colleagues, as other perks discussed previous-
ly.
Also, respondents who are out of home for 9 hrs or less in a workday have given preference
to work in modes other than office alone. 67% of the respondents spend normal office hours
i.e. 9 hours, (including travel time) being out of the home are desirous to check out other op-
tions.
Comment: With factors like financial perks or free time getting redundant, a hybrid mode of
working may find its place as an acceptable working mode soon.
Supporting Data:
Table 12: Overtime allowance for work from an office setting
Overtime Allowance No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Yes 13 26.53
No 36 73.47
Note: This data represents the respondents who are employed and are willing to either work
from home or work from anywhere or in hybrid mode.
Table 13: Break times with colleagues
Enjoy Break Time with
Colleagues
No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Yes 41 83.67
No 8 16.33

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Table 14: Transportation facility by the employer for working from the office
Transport provided by
Employer
No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Yes 12 24.49
No 30 61.22
Sometimes 7 14.29
Table 15: Time spent on a workday, out of home
Time spent out of home No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
9 Hrs or less 33 67.35
More than 9 Hrs 16 32.65

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This survey provided insight into the familiarity of the co-working space concept among the
respondents.
Figure 20: Knowledge, Interest and Willingness
Out of the total 67 respondents, 66% knows about Co-working spaces and 6% may have
heard about them. Further insights from the 72% (i.e. 66% and 6% combined) of a respondent
show a similar level of interest and willingness to work in a Co-working space. The willing-
ness item gauges the willingness of the respondents, aware of co-working spaces, to work
with colleagues of different organisations together. About 94% of them are likely to work
with new people alongside. Similarly, 85% of the knowledgeable respondents are interested
to work in co-working spaces.
Comment: The advantages and perks of working from a C0-working space need to be adver-
tised to make people aware. This awareness can lead to interest building and growing will-
ingness to adopt a new working mode.

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Supporting Data:
Table 16: Knowledge about Co-working Spaces
Co-working Space Yes No May be
Knowledge 44 65.67% 19 28.36% 4 5.97%
Note: The total number of respondents is 67.
Table 17: Interest and Willingness to work in Co-working Spaces
Co-working Space Yes No May be
Interest 29 60.42% 7 14.58% 12 25.00%
Willingness 30 62.50% 3 6.25% 15 31.25%
Note: The total respondents for each item is 48 who have heard about Co-working space or
are in the maybe category.

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The next set of responses are based on the additional information provided by 16 out of the
67 respondents who have prior experience of working in a Co-working space.
According to the responses received on the infrastructure provided by the Co-working space
providers, internet, meeting room and desks & chairs are ranked at the top followed by video
conference area, cleanliness, backup electricity in the second and third positions.
Analysing the ranking, the psyche of the respondents can be understood where even receiving
all the top-ranked amenities in their respective offices, they still choose to use other working
modes, especially Co-working spaces. The causes of such change in perception of the work-
force are due to networking opportunities, healthy peer relationships, optimistic environments
etc.
Comment: Co-working spaces must focus not only on physical infrastructure but also on the
perceived value of the work environment.
Supporting Data:
Table 18: Infrastructure provided by the co-working space
Infrastructure Provided No. of Respondents Rank
Internet 13 1
Meeting Room 13 1
Desks & chairs 13 1
Video Conference Area 12 2
Clean Offices 11 3
Backup electricity 11 3
IT Support 10 4
Printing facility 10 4
Refreshments 9 5

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Infrastructure Provided No. of Respondents Rank
HVAC 9 5
Support Staff 9 5
Stationery 8 6
Parking 7 7
24/7 Accessibility 7 7
Filling Cabinet 7 7
Attendance log 7 7
Branding 5 8
Server Support 5 8
Cloud Storage 2 9

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Further, respondents were asked to rate on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 being lowest and 10 being
highest) about different aspects of the co-working spaces. The responses received reveal that
co-working space options are liked by the users.
Figure 21: Respondents' Recommendation
The rankings received for each aspect are collated and a weighted mean is calculated to
understand the overall experience of the users.
Weighted Average = Ʃ(Parameter * No. of Respondents) / Total number of Respondents
The ranking provided by the respondents shows that the price factor of the co-working space
facility is one of the concerns in this given data. Services top the chart followed by the quality
of support staff.
When asked about the respondents’ recommendation in favour of Co-working space, 87.50%
of respondents answered in affirmative.
Comment: The services offered and the quality of the staff of the co-working spaces are
quite a state of the art. The service provider must deliver similar services throughout. The
pricing policy, however, may be customised for better acceptability.

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Supporting Data:
Table 19: Respondents' Ratings
Parameter/Rate Price Quality of Staff Services
Available
Overall
Experience
1 1 1 1 1
2
3
4
5 2 1
6 2 1
7 4 2 5 4
8 2 6 2 2
9 3 2 4 5
10 2 4 4 3
Weighted Average 7.125 7.9375 8 7.8125
Table 20: Respondents' recommendation
Recommend No. of Respondents %age of Total Respondents
Yes 14 87.50
No 2 12.50

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In summary of the data interpretation, it is seen that all the research questions are being ad-
dressed satisfactorily.
• Is the hybrid model feasible for every class of services sector? Yes, Section 2 interpre-
tation addresses the question.
• Is the hybrid model of work the new normal in post-pandemic India? Yes, Section 3
and Section 4 interpretations have addressed the question.
• Is hybrid working here to stay? Yes, Sections 4, 5 and 6 interpretations have answered
the question.
• If yes, what is the future of co-working spaces in India? Yes, Sections 7 and 8 inter-
pretations have addressed the question. Also, it is adequately discussed in conclusion.

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CONCLUSION
“The co-working spaces have a few track record, it has been created in 2005 and has really
been spread in 2007. Dozens of spaces are opening all over the world. This concept was
launched by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs essentially. They were looking for socialization
and interactions. They understood the importance of sharing experience, networks and skills
to improve projects. Co-workers develop strong connections between them and act as a
community with rules and values: collaboration, openness, community and sustainability.”
(Leforestier, 2009)
India has seen many changes in workplace management during the pandemic. The new
changes were adopted readily across the services industry players. Some giants have also an-
nounced to allow their employees to have a flexible working approach.
The Government of India has reduced the compliance burden to promote the work from any-
where culture further. The new rules for the ‘Other Service Providers’ are aimed at the pro-
viders of applications services, IT-enabled services, BPOs, KPOs, ITES, Call Centres, etc.
The new norms provide a strong impetus to the industry and position India as one of the most
competitive IT jurisdictions in the world. Work from home has been introduced as a new
normal during the pandemic globally. India is setting an example to introduce work from an-
ywhere for the services industry.
These new rules give a much-needed boost to the co-working spaces as well. The business
that provides real estate as a service may expand their bases to the smaller cities where people
can work at a cheaper lease rate for offices from their home town only. Workforce migration
can be curbed and the development of smaller cities can get a boost with the boom in their
respective economies.17
Spotify took a major step in allowing its staff to choose their preferred working modes. They
introduced the My Work Mode initiative to give choice and flexibility to work from any-
where. They have also allowed their employees to work from co-working spaces and the tab
is on them.18
17
https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/govt-eases-guidelines-to-make-work-from-home-permanent-
11604594622132.html
18
https://hrblog.spotify.com/2021/02/12/introducing-working-from-anywhere/

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IBM India has allowed 75% of its employees to work from home and is also planning to dis-
invest in the leased office spaces across the country.19
Many other companies such as Google,
Facebook, etc. are going with a hybrid model with an option to work from anywhere as
well.20
India is one of the leaders in start-up ecosystem development. Co-working spaces have a fair
chance to grow with the businesses. An article published by Goodworks in 2019 says the co-
working penetration is expected to increase to 5.7% in 2022 from 0.7% in 2017 in India. It
also points out that by 2020 the co-working space would expand to have 10 million square
feet within the country.21
As per the Business Insider article dated January 25, 2021, the co-working spaces have a
bright future ahead with cost-effectiveness, flexibility, customer loyalty and new rounds of
funding and government compliance boost.22
The hybrid model of work is here to stay with the changing attitude of businesses and indi-
viduals alike. As the survey data suggests, many people are willing to work from ‘not’ office
and may shift to their respective hometowns to curb costs, increase the standard of living, etc.
Staying confined to one place during the strict lockdown induced by the pandemic has
brought in the behavioural change in the minds of the workforce to explore other options for
working like the co-working space. Simultaneously, businesses are also willing to shun capi-
tal expenditures on infrastructure and rather move towards using infrastructure as a service.
Although the survey has provided meaningful insights to the research questions, we still need
to continue the study as the Co-working space or hybrid working setup is still a nascent con-
cept in India. Continuing the study will help to gather larger data which in turn will help in
understanding the subject further.
19
https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/social-relevance/companies-alowing-work-from-home-549040.html
20
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57425636
21
https://www.goodworks.in/the-future-of-coworking-spaces-in-india/
22
https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/article/what-the-future-holds-for-co-working-spaces-in-
india/articleshow/80400233.cms

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
• Service Operations Management, NGASCE
• Research Methodologies, NGASCE
Journals
• Jongseok Seo, L. L.-S. (2017). Priorities of Coworking Space Operation. Entrepreneurial
Sustainability: New Innovative Knowledge, 8-9.
• Leforestier, A. (2009). The Co-Working Space Concept. Google Scholar, 17-18.
Websites
• https://startuptalky.com/coworking-spaces-in-india/
• https://www.redbrickoffices.com/
• https://devx.work/blog/best-coworking-spaces-in-india/
• https://www.wework.com/
• https://www.oyoworkspaces.com/
• https://www.91springboard.com/
• https://www.tofler.in/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coworking
• https://coworkinginsights.com/the-history-of-coworking/
• https://www2.deloitte.com/lu/en/pages/real-estate/articles/smart-building-real-estate-
predictions.html
• https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/article/what-the-future-holds-for-
co-working-spaces-in-india/articleshow/80400233.cms

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ANNEXURE
Index of Figures
Figure 1: VUCA...................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 2: WeWork Research Results........................................................................................ 12
Figure 3: Tangibility Spectrum................................................................................................ 13
Figure 4: Decoupled Service Design ........................................................................................ 17
Figure 5: The growth of Co-working Spaces over time............................................................... 21
Figure 6: Image from Section 1 of Survey Questionnaire............................................................ 30
Figure 10: Image from Section 5 of Survey Questionnaire.......................................................... 33
Figure 13: Image of Redirecting Question from Survey Questionnaire ......................................... 34
Figure 15: Sector-wise Survey Population ................................................................................ 37
Figure 16: Workforce Migration.............................................................................................. 39
Figure 17: Commute Time...................................................................................................... 41
Figure 18: Work Style Preference............................................................................................ 42
Figure 19: Work Location Preference....................................................................................... 44
Figure 20: Knowledge, Interest and Willingness........................................................................ 49
Figure 21: Respondents' Recommendation................................................................................ 53
Index of Tables
Table 1: Age of respondents ................................................................................................... 38
Table 2: Employment status of respondents .............................................................................. 38
Table 3: Employment Sector................................................................................................... 38
Table 4: City of work of respondents ....................................................................................... 40
Table 5: Distance of place of work and place of origin ............................................................... 40
Table 6: Total time spent on travelling to workplace.................................................................. 41
Table 7: Mode of work since lockdown.................................................................................... 43
Table 8: Preferred mode of work ............................................................................................. 43
Table 9: Work from Anywhere................................................................................................ 45
Table 10: Additional costs involved for working from home....................................................... 46
Table 11: Problems of working from home............................................................................... 46
Table 12: Overtime allowance for work from an office setting .................................................... 47
Table 13: Break times with colleagues ..................................................................................... 47
Table 14: Transportation facility by the employer for working from the office .............................. 48

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Table 15: Time spent on a workday, out of home ...................................................................... 48
Table 16: Knowledge about Co-working Spaces........................................................................ 50
Table 17: Interest and Willingness to work in Co-working Spaces............................................... 50
Table 18: Infrastructure provided by the co-working space ......................................................... 51
Table 19: Respondents' Ratings............................................................................................... 54
Table 20: Respondents' recommendation.................................................................................. 54

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