The Complete Guide to Flexible Office Spaces

Chahna Baksani
Chahna Baksani
Chahna Baksani is the Social Media Manager as well as a Content Writer at The Address. If you ever happen to visit The Address' Ahmedabad offices, do not miss to stop by and say Hi to her.

Flexible work is no longer something that only freelancers enjoy. Many companies from all over the world are offering flexible work arrangements. In fact, 80% of companies are already offering flexible work options to employees to uphold work-life balance. 

For example, employers are offering remote working opportunities to employees who commute long distances to reach the office. This helps employees to reduce travel time, thus improving their quality of life.

Besides introducing a flexible work pattern, businesses should focus on making their workspaces adaptable to the employees’ needs. One of the best ways to do so is by offering flexible workspaces to the employees.

In this post, we will learn more about flexible workspaces, the amenities they offer, and how they can help your business scale to greater heights.

What Is a Flexible Office Space?

Flexible office space offers a dynamic workspace solution containing dedicated workstations, furnishing, and all amenities that you would find in traditional offices. Flexible offices are designed to facilitate different working styles depending on the employees’ work requirements.

They empower professionals to have complete control over their schedules by giving them the flexibility to work at any place and at the desired time. For example, employees working from a coworking space can work at their dedicated desk and attend their calls or meetings in a phone booth or meeting room.

Flexible offices generally comprise different types of workspaces that include –

  • Hot desks – Temporary workstations that can be booked on a first-come-first-serve basis. 
  • Dedicated desks – A permanent workstation with a private storage facility is allocated to you based on your membership plan. You will have access to other amenities, such as a meeting room, phone booth, and more with a dedicated desk subscription. These desks are ideal for freelancers and solopreneurs.
  • Collaborative coworking spaces – These workspaces are generally utilized by multiple people on a membership basis. These spaces are ideal for startups, SMEs, and other companies.
  • Private officesFully furnished dedicated office spaces for your entire team. These office spaces are ideal for startups, SMEs, corporates, and enterprises.

5 Benefits of Flexible Workspaces

Flexible workspaces offer unique work environments that promote collaboration, enhance productivity, and boost brand awareness. Let us learn more about the benefits the flexible office offers over traditional office settings.

#1. No Capital Investment

The cost of setting up traditional offices today is exorbitantly high. The real estate costs, furnishing, equipment, and other expenses can lead to financial difficulties for businesses. Hence, businesses must take advantage of flexible office solutions.

Flexible workspaces provide you with opportunities to work from professional office spaces with modern amenities at affordable costs. It saves you from the hassles of long-term leases, office maintenance, and other costs thereby allowing you to save cash for other important expenses. 

#2. Hassle-Free Setup

Setting up a new office in flexible workspaces is much faster as compared to traditional offices. All you need to do is sign a contract and wait for the space provider to finish the customizations if any. The entire process is hassle-free and you might move into your new office in a matter of a few days or a week.

#3. Speedy Expansion

Flexible office spaces are the best workspace options if you are scaling your team. Whether you are planning on increasing the team headcount or wanting to set up an office in a new location, flexible office spaces offer you room to grow and diversify your team without any difficulties.

#4. Increased Corporate Visibility

Being collaborative spaces, flexible office solutions help multiple businesses, freelancers, solopreneurs, and others to operate under the same roof. It provides you with a platform to advertise your services or products to others, thereby increasing your reach and visibility. It boosts your corporate brand awareness and helps you attract new clients and incredible talent. 

#5. Better Networking

Flexible office spaces facilitate better social interaction. Working from a flexible office space introduces you to other professionals and presents extensive opportunities for business collaborations and partnerships. In fact, 46% of professionals admitted that coworking spaces have helped them build strong professional networks. 

Many flexible office space providers organize community events to allow the members to meet and interact with one another and build lasting connections.

9 Amenities to Look for Before Investing in a Flexible Office

While flexible office spaces generally include all the amenities that traditional offices do, here are a few amenities that these spaces must have.

1. Adaptable workstations

The workspaces must be fully furnished and must support different work styles, such as ergonomic chairs, standing desks, beanbags, couches, and more.

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2. Quiet areas

Designated areas for focused thinking and privacy to keep the noise and distractions away.

3. Meeting and conference rooms

Spacious rooms for organizing client meetings, team standups, conferences, webinars, and other meetups.

4. Office equipment

Access to basic office equipment, such as printers, scanners, photocopy machines, projectors, and more.

5. Breakout space

A dedicated zone in the office space that employees can utilize to relax or even hold informal meetings.

6. Pantry and kitchen

A fully-stocked pantry and kitchen area for employees to have their meals.

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7. Tools and technology

Access to useful tools, such as desk booking software, meeting room booking tool, membership software, and other tools for seamless working experiences.

8. Lighting

Regardless of the desk location, the space must offer adequate illumination so that your employees can work without any difficulties.

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9. Community initiatives

Community engagement events that break the monotony of work allowing the employees to network, collaborate, and enjoy themselves.

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FAQs about Flexible Office Spaces

Here are a few commonly asked questions about flexible office spaces that most businesses usually have.

1. Which type of businesses should invest in flexible office space?

Whether you have an IT startup or an eCommerce store, you can leverage flexible offices for your business operations. There is no restriction on the type of businesses operating from such work offices.

2. What is the ideal company size for working from a flexible office space?

Businesses of any size can benefit from flexible office spaces. Whether your company is an MNC, enterprise, SME, or startup, flexible office spaces are designed to accommodate all business needs.

3. Is there any deposit that a company has to pay?

There might be a deposit or a one-time setup fee that the flexible workspace provider might ask for when making the agreement.

4. Is there any minimum contract period for signing up for a flexible office?

Yes. You can book a flexible office space for your company for a minimum duration of one month. However, if you are opting for hot desks, you can rent the same on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis.

5. Do flexible offices offer a trial period?

Yes. Many flexible office space providers offer a trial period of one day so that you can check out the space and its offerings before registering for the same. 

Wrapping Up

Flexible workspaces are seeing rapid growth in the past few years. These spaces offer everything you need – infrastructure, workstations, internet, tech tools, and more in one place. It eliminates the hassles of setting up a new office from scratch and provides an amazing work experience for the employees. They are the perfect places to work and scale your business.  

Ready to invest in a flexible workspace? Contact us today.