Working in San Francisco in the mid 1990s during the height of the dot com boom, it seemed such a “now” thing when Sun Microsystems set up a friend in a drop-in downtown work portal – a desk to plug in to and work off-site from their Silicon Valley base.
At the same time, companies like Apple, Google, Skype, Mozilla, and Adobe were changing the way we defined the workspace. Expanding at rapid rates, it was a new creative culture of wi-fi think tanks, virtual conferencing, down-time spaces and cafeterias that gave them the edge.
Companies could no longer expect the next generation of workers to sit idly in cubicles, working to the beat of a bundy clock.
While this model has increasingly become the norm globally as a more efficient way to use space – that is employee per square meter ratio – in the light of soaring commercial prices, there was another outcome to this shift in office culture.
Freelancers were able to move out of the home office and rent share creative suites, liberated by wireless technology and, more recently, the cloud. Simply, rent a desk in a groovy renovated warehouse that has been sliced up, look professional, and have the experience of being part of a working community.
Sounds great, but does the reality match the vision? ArtsHub spoke with a group of creatives who had made the decision to rent-a-desk over the home office.
Jack Rodgers, of Jack Rodgers Designs, is a graphic designer who took on a lease in a Surry Hills warehouse three years ago, after having positively shared a space with a photographer for four years. Rodgers said, ‘Professional, socially, creatively (and for sanity), it is money worth spending. Anyway, you can claim it as a business expense at the end of the year so it’s not as frightening as people think.’
Rodgers added, ‘You want it to match the image you would like to project. Clients always comment how great the place is. The cool factor is definitely a major bonus.’
Chris Knowles, a web developer with his own company CKWEB, agreed: ‘Having an office address adds to the perceived legitimacy of my business. As an essentially one person operation, a sense of stability is important when attracting new clientele and on the rare occasions I have a client visit me it adds to my credibility.’
Why did they initially make the move, was it for professional or personal?
Rodgers said, ‘Initially to gain contacts – I’d just arrived in Australia and I thought “I’m never going to meet anyone stuck in my spare room!”, so literally the first thing I did was look for a shared space with a like-minded individual. For me it was a worthwhile investment.’
Rohan Deshpande, a web designer and developer (Creativelifeform), came from the opposite position to Rodgers. He said, ‘I worked from home for three years before making the decision that it was simply time to move on. My income had gone up and the separation between my work and home life was becoming exponentially blurred. There were days where I would just wake up and glue myself to the computer for hours before realizing it was time to get out of my pyjamas! It wasn’t healthy, I needed more regulated working hours and space free of distractions where I could focus better.’
He added, ‘Furthermore, through working in a shared space I met a number of people through whom I was able to gain more leads.’
Knowles agreed, ‘I have few client meetings and so therefore a lack of interaction with others and even though I’m not usually working directly with the people I share with, being amongst other people with the opportunity for an occasional chat makes me feel like I’m almost a normal person with a proper job!’
Formerly working in theatre production and as a drama teacher, for Caroline Farrell, however, it was a different motivation that led her to rent a desk. She has been freelance writing for a few years and is currently writing a memoir. Living between Sydney and Bali, she recently sub-leased a desk; her decision was about ‘trying to take my writing more seriously’.
With a new literary agent and a second draft of her book due in a few months, Farrell felt the environment was conducive to work. She said, ‘Because I am actually paying for the space, I am more determined to use the time wisely and work specifically on the memoir. I find I normally put this project at the bottom of my priority list and now I am putting it first. Having others around hones my focus rather than hinders it.’
Sounds like the benefits outweigh the costs. Knowles confirmed, ‘Financially speaking, the cost is really quite low and personally I easily more than cover it with increased productivity. But even if that wasn’t so, I believe I also more than cover the cost with the social and lifestyle benefits I gain from the routine of getting out of the house and going to work each day.’
Tips for the prospective shift?
Renting a desk basically comes in two forms: literally a desk that you share – a kind of channel down a warehouse with workstations side by side; or a work area that is more conventional with your own desk, chair and bookshelf. Some offices include power, cleaning and internet, others don’t. Like anything today you need to shop around. Consider how you will get there. Transport and parking are increasing costs that should be added into the equation.
Rodgers advised, ‘When you are looking for a space, don’t try to save a few bucks by compromising. You are more likely to use your office if it’s easy to get to and in a nice area – would you really want to sit in traffic for an hour a day, just to save $20 a week? In the long run, it’s not worth it and in the creative industry the most important thing is to be happy where you work, otherwise you’ll just dry up!’
Many office suite today are going green under their hip conversion brand. Most have a bike rack, recycling, shared meetings spaces, and kitchens. The model is not far from the Silicon Valley one of the 1990s with their slick modern designs and pop colours and reproduction designer furniture, however the Australian version is void of the slides and gaming zones.
Despite these factors, the consensus was that choosing a shared office was not just about physical space.
Deshpande said, ‘The first space I rented was a strange fit in that I was sharing with a single company with three employees in a similar industry. It became a little awkward after a while. In my current office we are all separate businesses and I think that is the best situation for sharing.’
Knowles said the biggest problem was ‘sharing with the wrong people. I’ve done this before and it undermines all of the positives. If the people aren’t right, keep moving until they are.’
Deshpande said, ‘If anyone out there is wondering if they should make the switch from a home to a shared office, I’d say definitely try it out at least for three months. Chances are you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.’
