Entrepreneur – February 5, 2018

By Paula Gomprecht | February 5, 2018

Watch out for more industry-specific spaces and more participation from large corporations.

In 2017, it’s projected that more than 1.1 million people went to work, backpacks and big ideas in tow, at 13,800 coworking spaces worldwide, according to the 2017 Global Coworking Survey. To put this in perspective, if every coworking space was owned by the same company, it would have more worldwide locations than Walmart. Coworking memberships have enjoyed steady growth since the idea became a reality. However, as the nature of work evolves and the demand for new technology explodes, we can expect coworking to look differently in 2020 than it does today. As we continue to forge into this brave new world of work and technology, it’s only natural to predict that coworking will take on a brave, new path as well. Below are three trends that will shape the future of coworking in 2018 and beyond.

1. Continued expansion of national players into middle market of the country
Several huge companies made headlines in 2017 with plans to relocate or expand into what many refer to as “flyover country,” the Midwest. And it’s not just Chicago, either. Cities like Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus and Detroit are seeing expansion from national names in coworking like WeWork, Serendipity Labs and Industrious, with some planting multiple locations within one city. The growth is certainly justified. Millennials, who will make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2030, crave these open, flexible work formats. As millennials and their Gen Z successors begin setting off on their own entrepreneurial pursuits, the expectation is that the demand for coworking will only increase, forever changing the commercial office landscape

Source, John Wechsler, What Will Coworking Spaces Look Like in 2020?, Entrepreneur.