It’s been more than three years since the co-working giant WeWork opened its first location, and co-founder Adam Neumann tells Bloomberg that his company’s spaces are still running at over 90 percent capacity. Inflation and hybrid work [in which companies use part-time employees or contract workers] have skyrocketed demand for flexible workspace, he says. And to meet that demand, the company recently announced plans to expand its WeWork Labs program, in which it partners with entrepreneurs to provide them with flexible office space and mentorship opportunities in exchange for equity in their companies.
According to WeWork, firms are being forced to be “more agile” with their corporate real estate holdings as a result of the global inflationary pressures.
Samit Chopra, the international president and COO of the coworking firm, said that “that… has created the requirement for enterprises to look at flexibility in managing and thinking about their workplace.”
Which, of course, is motivated by a change in the workplace as a whole and the phenomena of hybrid work that has emerged in recent months.
On Tuesday, Chopra said that while businesses attempt to reintegrate at-home workers into the workplace, they are concentrating on creating engagement and a “collaborative culture.”
As a result, he continued, “many businesses, both big and small, enterprise clients, freelancers, start-ups… now see the flexible space sector and businesses like WeWork considerably more favourably than we did, say, three years ago.”
“What that has done is driven up demand for us throughout the world for flexible workplace.
WeWork stated last month that its second quarter sales increased by 37% from the same period the previous year to $815 million. Additionally, its quarterly net loss decreased 31% from the prior year to $635 million.
According to Chopra, a significant amount of WeWork’s worldwide business is made up of the enterprise segment, which is made up of significant Fortune 500 and 100 organisations.
The enterprise segment accounted for more than 45% of our global business last year. Over the past two to three years, that area of our business has experienced substantial growth.
“A large market” is Singapore.
WeWork leased a 21-story luxury office building in Singapore on Tuesday to mark the opening of its Asia flagship asset.
This confirms WeWork’s view of Singapore as “an established global economic powerhouse,” according to Chopra.
Additionally, its location is advantageous for luring major corporations, independent contractors, and small firms.
“Singapore is… a significant market for us in Asia, and Asia as a region is a significant component of our worldwide business,” the company said.
