The Future of the Workplace: How Coworking Spaces Provide an Alternative to Traditional Offices?

Working life has been undergoing structural transformations in the last two decades as globalisation has accelerated, the integration of information technologies into work has increased, flexible working practices have become widespread, and the workforce is concentrated in the service sector. With the pandemic process that further accelerated this structural transformation, remote and hybrid working models have become widespread; it has raised the question of what the future of workplaces will be by differentiating the nature and meaning of work. In this paper, the function and future of traditional offices are problematised and it will be discussed how coworking spaces, which are rising as a new workplace trend and increasing in number day by day, will constitute an alternative to the traditional office. Professionals, defined as ‘knowledge workers’ and ‘creative class’ in the literature, have the skills and qualifications to perform their work largely independent of time and space. The independence of work from space and time does not eliminate the need for a workplace where the employee can work efficiently, socialise and network. Since traditional office, home or café spaces cannot fully meet this need, the trend of coworking spaces where employees can both work efficiently and socialise and network is increasing day by day. Based on the current data of the website ‘Coworker Turkey’ (2024), we can see that in Turkey. In this research, which is based on a completed master's thesis, in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 professionals in a total of 5 different coworking spaces belonging to Kolektif House and Workinton in Istanbul. Professionals consider coworking spaces to be cost- and transport-friendly and more efficient than working at home or in a café. This situation shows that the future of workplaces will differentiate and diversify in the transforming working life.