WeWork: Opportunities and challenges of digital and physical locations

I am intrigued by WeWork as a concept because technology is enabling people to work nomadically and separately but maintain the illusion of close physicality by connecting us instantaneously with each other.

Social platforms, WiFi and businesses such as Skype, GoToWebinar, Viber and WhatsApp are just some of the ways technology has increased our availability which enables us to work in our own terms, but if more people are trying to be Digital Nomads, shouldn’t WeWork not have worked?Why open static offices?

WeWork’s founder answers this question (Turk, 2018), saying WeWork products are “community driven” and “attached to the physical world”. WeWork use digital to improve physical access to others instead of replacing it. The community factor is a strong area for WeWork; they have found that enticing enterprises through the door for a month often means they will stay for life (Turk, 2018).

WeWork are not valued as a real estate company, but rather as a technology company. The organisation is considered a “platform for creators” (Cadwalladr, 2016). This is due to their disruptive nature, like Uber and AirBnB. While Uber doesn’t own its fleet and AirBnB doesn’t own its hotels, WeWork doesn’t own most of its real estate; what it claims to disrupt is work itself. Being at WeWork is about “creating your life’s work” and thus increasing job satisfaction (Cadwalladr, 2016).

By purchasing MeetUp, and establishing WeLive WeWork further use digital to encourage communities to grow. WeLive have noticed people in their neighbourhoods are more likely to be friends with each other than in other parts of the building, showing that use of communal spaces does influence the relationships people have with each other, unlike working remotely which means colleagues may only communicate when absolutely necessary. Furthermore, members have access to work in any of the offices globally, meaning that Digital Nomad’s can count on the necessities to work remotely.

Access to the community can be vital. Overhearing someone at the coffee machine that can support your own venture could end in a meeting. The provision of regular free food and beer encourages members to spend time in communal areas. (Turk, 2018) WeWork cleverly manipulate the area so that a community grows in a way that feels natural to the members.

However, WeWork rely on technology to power the operation. They use a platform that shows all WeWork operations in various stages of completion. They can access floor-plans, notes from colleagues and troubleshooting alerts. Digital infrastructure is necessary when “you have architects, you have project managers, you have contractors, you have subcontractors, you have HVAC people – so many different people need to come together,” Veresh Sita says; “We need everyone to work off the same playbook.” (Turk, 2006). Being digital-first has advantages - it mitigates difficulties from being global: with so many projects ongoing at any one time, decisions and “version control” can get lost.

WeWork harnessed the individuality of their spaces and created ‘Powered by We’ designed to appeal to enterprises who still wish to have ownership over their own spaces while WeWork head configurations. However, all employees become WeWork members which means they are still able to harness the data and use it to their advantage.

WeWork’s digital activity is designed to provide data on the behaviours of its members. The app enables members to log support tickets which will come through to the platform. It also doubles up as a way to book meeting rooms, register guests, make purchases and as a social media platform (Cadwalladr, 2016), which connects all of those in We.Co locations. By facilitating communication between members such as at networking events, you invite them to grow their community affiliations. If you need an accountant or a PR specialist, the app tells you where the businesses are globally that you can utilise. (Ashley, ND).

For millennials especially, culture and meaning at work are huge drivers for loyalty. Today, we spend more than a third of our lives at work, and retirement ages are increasing; people want to get more out of a work place than just to sit, do and then leave (PWC CEO Surevey, 2011). WeWork have been selling a lifestyle as opposed to just an office - providing hairdressers and allowing you to bring your dog (Ashley, ND).

WeWork buildings themselves are digitally engaged. Swiped membership passes allow people to come and go as they please. Guests sign in using a touchscreen (Turk, 2018). You can find out how many meeting rooms are free and when the air filters were last changed (Hempel, 2017). WeWork has visions for the future where desks will recognise who is seated and change height accordingly. WeWork has been siphoning data from each member to grow their understanding of how to optimise and personalise work spaces for the individual organisations that use it (Hempel, 2017).

The downside, however, we don’t know how comfortable people will be with giving up certain degrees of anonymity in a post-Cambridge Analytica society; lots will depend on how much WeWork share with enterprises. You use your access card to enter and exit the office, but you only spent 60% of your work day at your desk and you were only in the cafeteria for 40 minutes, what if your boss can penalise you for where you were? Combined with ideas floated of listening devices and sentiment analysis cameras (Turk, 2018) this could cause Orwellian levels of micromanagement and scrutiny that flexible working environments entirely avoid.

¹ A community growth platform where people can organise events with local like-minded individuals.

² A communal living arrangement where apartments across three floors have been segregated into neighbourhoods, sharing laundry rooms, kitchen facilities and breakout spaces.

³ Global Head of WeWork Strategic Consulting

Ashley, K (no date). A Week at WeWork: What’s it Like to Work Here?. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from http://kenashleycre.com/2016/11/a-week-at-wework-whats-it-like-to-work-here/

Cadwalladr, C. (2016, January 11). WeWork: They've transformed the office, now it's time for your home. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/jan/11/wework-transforming-office-life-and-home-life-carole-cadwalladr

Hempel, J. (2017, September 21). This Is Why WeWork Thinks It's Worth $20 Billion | Backchannel. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from https://www.wired.com/story/this-is-why-wework-thinks-its-worth-20-billion/

PWC CEO Survey (2011) Millennials at Work: Reshaping the workplace. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from https://www.pwc.com/co/es/publicaciones/assets/millennials-at-work.pdf

Turk, V. (2018, June 06). How WeWork became the most hyped startup in the world. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from https://www.wired.co.uk/article/we-work-startup-valuation-adam-neumann-interview