Assessing the impact of Co-working spaces on the commercial office space market of Kampala-Uganda.

Abstract

Co-working, or provision of communal, flexible office spaces on a short-term basis, is a rapidly growing phenomenon in the modern office markets. In this study, co-working is defined as the practice of working alongside one another in flexible, shared work settings where desks can be rented on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The study identifies reasons why people co-work, explains the features of flexible spaces in terms of office design, co-working models, and flexible lease terms, and how they affect tenant turnover, demand for space, and employee productivity.

Data was collected from Regus, Innovation Village, and Hive Colab with the help of questionnaires and interviews. Results from the online survey showed that 69.2% of the respondents considered location and cost as major factors when choosing a co-working space. 50% of them agreed that space design affects their level of creativity, and 56% preferred hybrid working to other forms of work environments. From the field interviews, it was noted that there’s insufficient knowledge about the 5 existing coworking models, and the sampled co-working spaces used two models; revenue & profit and management models. In conclusion, there’s a need for landlords to adopt the “Space as a Service” model rather than view themselves as rent collectors.