A Guide to Co-Living for Digital Nomads

Ahh, the work flexibility trend: we know it, we love it, and data showing the movement toward greater freedom to control our careers shows no signs of letting up. Our partners at Outsite have written an extensive guide to co-living that encompasses working together and job flexibility—and illustrates how co-living and the flexible job market go hand-in-hand.

Onsite’s “Ultimate Guide to Co-Living” is all about how the current trends in the workplace and elsewhere signal an “age of disruption” of how virtually all industries operate. That disruption means transformational changes not only in our approach to careers, but in attitudes toward living spaces, travel, and taking control of how and where we focus on achieving better work-life integration.

So what is co-living?

Basically, the term applies to the sharing of living and work spaces among people with similar goals and priorities. As Onsite notes, the movement has been around for decades. But a growing confluence of factors—technological advances, demographic shifts, the rise of millennials, and the demand for remote work—is fueling the co-living trend.

If you’re a digital nomad—that is, a worker who uses online resources to work from anywhere in the world—keep in mind that co-living and coworking broadly overlap. In part, this phenomenon has been driven by real estate costs, a trend discussed in the Onsite article.

For one thing, some workers have been all but priced out of the real estate market in many big cities and major metropolitan areas. For another, employers are embracing the major cost savings that come with allowing employees to work remotely, thereby reducing overhead costs for companies.

For digital nomads, and companies looking to hire them, here’s what’s good to know about the co-living trend:

Co-living is integral to the flexible work movement.

Just as co-living spaces help participants make the most of their financial resources, coworking spaces can maximize productivity for flexible workers, especially telecommuters. Once you understand things you need to know about coworking, you can start to make the most of the great benefits of building a career on your own terms.

Virtually all age groups, not just millennials, embrace co-living and coworking.

The top reasons for co-living and coworking show the appeal of these new trends across all age groups, sometimes for different reasons. Millennials have indicated they are more interested in travel and work flexibility than some other demographic groups.

Yet many working parents rank work flexibility ahead of salary when it comes to balancing family and career. And many baby boomers and retirees plan to work part-time in retirement, a reason why coworking may appeal to them.

Coworking requires employees who are at the top of their technological game.

Workers who are considering beefing up their home office, working in a coworking space, or making other remote arrangements will need to be up to speed on technology that enables digital nomads to succeed.

Even though such workers are in their own “space,” working together with other team members is often a necessity, requiring the skills to use technology that enables task-sharing and online communication.

Coworking options help employers attract top-tier candidates.

Companies looking to recruit and hire the best job candidates shouldn’t underestimate the appeal of offering coworking options that help teams work together.

With hundreds of coworking spaces available across the country that provide everything from social interaction to professional and peer support, it just makes sense to capitalize now on this emerging workforce trend.