Imagine the ultimate working environment that millennials are embracing: super-fast Wi-Fi, freshly brewed coffee, food supplies aplenty, and loads of other people all around, quietly getting on with their work.
The ingredients are simple: Half coffee shop (café), half office = The Coffice
The flexible working shift
As the rise of flexible and mobile working continues, the coffice has become the go-to working venue for millennials, with many establishments taking note, and capitalising on the trend.
The appeal of the coffice is clear – many larger offices are becoming crowded, with employees vying for workspaces in poorly executed hot desking schemes, or queuing to use the microwave for 30 minutes at lunchtime. The coffice is a welcome change of scenery and pace for many workers, with space to think and work productively.
However, this kind of shift in working environment requires forward planning, and is best suited to those with ample access to cloud-based solutions and mobile technology.
The coffice perks
Despite being a popular respite for office workers from larger organisations, the coffice can be an excellent venue for employees of smaller businesses or start-ups, and has certainly seen much of its boom in popularity from the freelancing crowd. Overall, the coffice is favoured by workers and businesses who seek lower overheads – avoiding having to rent or buy office space, with the added bonus of being able to network or interact with others who may hold similar ideas and ambitions.
Given the typical café or coffee shop environment, the concept of the coffice seems best suited to solitary work tasks.
However, what happens when your working role involves meetings, discussions and collaboration?
With meeting room booking software that are optimised for mobile, anyone can book meetings on the go – so at least meetings can be organised from the coffice! Despite what some may think, meetings can be held there, too – a quieter coffice can be a good venue for a video meeting or audio meeting, particularly if it offers respite from a louder office.
Overall, the coffice is looking like the way forward in the working environment as we know it – flexible, friendly spaces that make great pit stops or working refuges for many different people.
