Workbar’s new 22,000-square-foot location at 500 Unicorn Park Drive in Woburn includes a mix of collaborative and single-person work areas and videoconferencing capabilities. Photo courtesy of Workbar

As employers in Boston and beyond begin to adjust to the post-pandemic new normal, it’s clear that the remote work revolution has left its mark. But it’s also clear that companies are still looking for ways to harness the creative and cultural energies of in-person collaboration. 

Increasingly, the solution is trending towards a hybrid model that gives workers flexibility not only on when they come in, but where – with varied and dispersed workplace options that reposition the central downtown office of the past. This trend, often described as workplace mobility, represents the future of productivity for the industries that drive Boston and the world. 

Coworking spaces are not new, though they took on increased prominence during the pandemic. However, for a growing share of large employers, they are becoming the office of choice, serving as a flexible meeting space, collaboration hub and unique culture-booster in lieu of their expensive, hard-to-reach legacy offices. No longer just for freelancers and startups, large and established companies are utilizing these spaces in diverse and innovative ways. At Workbar, we have observed 60 percent more Fortune 500 companies utilizing our network of coworking locations in and around Greater Boston, with more joining every month. 

Key to that trend has been that idea – a network – which makes the workplace mobility concept so attractive. Companies are seeking out flexible networks of spaces that provide nearby options for their increasingly scattered workforces to meet and connect no matter where they live. An engineering team may regularly meet at a coworking space in Cambridge, while the executive management team for the same organization may find themselves better able to converge at a Workbar in Woburn. More options for each component of a business makes each one more effective and efficient. 

Distributed Workforces Demand Flexible Options 

It’s also financially savvy. By leveraging workplace mobility solutions and non-simultaneous attendance, companies spend far less than if they were to rent the same amount of square footage full-time. The promise of a diverse array of workplace options closer to home is an intangible benefit to current and potential hires, as well as current staff of all seniority, allowing employers a stronger position with which to recruit and retain top talent. And during slow periods or lulls in the business cycle, companies can scale down their commitment easily and flexibly in anticipation of the next ramp-up. 

Sarah Travers

And while the endgame of workplace for businesses usually translates to greater efficiency and a stronger bottom line, it offers benefits to employees that equate to greater talent retention. Chief among these is a much shorter commute that spares workers from needing to navigate peak Boston traffic; this benefit increases in value the more options workers have to commute to a nearby satellite office. Removing barriers to access and enjoyment of the office is also a critical step in achieving corporate diversity, equity and inclusion goals, many of which are focused on making office access simpler and less expensive for marginalized communities. 

For a growing slice of the Boston economy, workplace mobility is the best way to square the circle of how to harness the creative spirit of collaboration while providing employees the flexibility of remote and hybrid work. Thirty percent of Americans now work under a hybrid structure, a number which has stabilized in recent months. We aren’t going back to the old way of doing things.  

Instead, flexible attendance of high-amenity coworking spaces, spread out across a wide footprint, will continue to become the norm for employers thinking about what the future holds for themselves and their teams. As we put the pandemic in the rearview mirror, it appears that norm is here to stay. 

Sarah Travers is CEO of Workbar.