Obviously, the struggling global economy has forced the businesses who walked out of their shared workspace over a year ago to have to reopen.  For the owners and managers of the thousands of shared workspaces around the country, these re-openings were welcomed.   However, the move back into open office space has resulted in shared workspace owners needing to establish a Code of Conduct their tenants need to follow.

Why A Code is Needed

The popularity of shared workspace has leveled off over the past year primarily due to the owners of the facilities’ inability to take the needed steps to keep their tenants safe.  Things like enforcing the wearing of face masked in all common areas and holding public gatherings only in private closed rooms, along with a few dozen other considerations, seem NOT to be what the owners of many shared workspace want to do. 

As a result, the morale of the tenants, who spend thousands of dollars a month to lease very small private offices with doors, are demanding the shared workspaces owners develop a code of conduct that every tenant has to abide by to keep their lease.

Yes, stronger measures will have to be taken to keep shared workspace tenants safe and the owners of the shared workspace profitable.

What Will Happen Without a Code

The question has been asked, what will happen if there is not some code for tenants to follow? 

From what I have been told by a few shared workspace owners, the enforcement of anything that is not backup by strong mandates and laws would result in a hostile environment they rather not manage.

Any push back from any enforcement of any rule from shared workspace tenants would ultimately end tenants moving out.  Naturally, this would be a threat to the owners of shared workspace income. 

So the decision to NOT do EVERYTHING they can to keep all of their tenants safe from contracting a deadly airborne communicable disease like COVID-19 is NOT based on shared workspace owners’ using common sense but the fear of there being a reduction of revenue.   

The Reality

Yes, I have read the reports made by commercial real estate-based companies showing the interest in businesses moving into shared workspace going up. 

Since my companies have officed in four of the shared workspace facilities here in Dallas since 2012 I can safely say the interest from the businesses who coinhabit with me came in every eager, but quickly fond after a few weeks they would have been better off renting their own office space. 

In less than 6 months these small businesses will move out due to what boils down to incompatibility with the shared workspace ownership’s philosophy of business life.

In reality, if there is an increase in shared workspace tenants it would have to be from the virtual membership levels consisting of local freelancers and solopreneurs.  Most of these virtual member tenants work from home and stop by for a cup of coffee when they get bored. 

Where the Code Developed

Over the past 12 months, the businesses that stayed put during the COVID-19 shutdown were businesses essential to the economy and worked together to keep their distance from each other.  Of course, there were a few business people who had a different point of view on their life.  However, On the most part, the tenants of shared workspace used their heads and human instincts to stay safe.

As a result of this mutual cooperation, there were some agreements made amongst these small numbers of business owners.  These agreements were the first health safety code still used today by the tenants by no recognized by the shared workspace owners.

The Need for a Code of Conduct

So why are businesses with 5 or more employees leasing shared workspace instead of having their own space?  From my short surveys, it seems many are leaving Class A Office buildings that offer little if any amenities that Shared Workspace offers with their list.

However, all who I talk to after they move into a shared workspace tell me that the rude behavior of most of the other tenants is why they are reconsidering moving back to their own managed space.

Their complaints range from:

• Constant loud talking
• Overuse of smartphone speakerphone feature
• Ignoring the meeting room schedules

To:

• The overwhelming body order from a tenant in the next office
• Allowing tenant’s pets to roam the building
• private events blocking off the main entrance and now allowing other tenant’s client’s to enter.

The health concerns observed and testament given on lack of health safety range from:

• No frequent cleaning of common area surfaces
• Allowing open food buffets during semi-public events in common areas
• Allowing too many people to gather in the open areas
• Not having any temperature check when entering the building.
• Have ACHV thermostats placed in windowed offices that control the temperature for other offices

All of these concerns produce stress and stress affects a person’s immune system allow for viruses to break through the body’s defenses. 

As a result, people get sick.  When people get sick…from anything…it is assumed they have COVID-19 and they are shunned from their workgroup and even their neighboring businesses.

BOTTOMLINE:

Shared Workspace owners would find it much easier to attract solid businesses to lease their business if they established a Code of Conduct that everyone who signs a lease has to abide by following.  This CODE of Conduct would also reassure all tenants that everyone in their shared workspace is healthy and follows safe health protocals.

It is a simple solution to a very difficult problem.  But something has to be done.  The results of not doing something is deadly.

Let me know how I can.