Summary:
- A San Francisco startup called Neon is offering co-working spaces, known as third spaces, to address the loneliness of remote work.
- Remote workers often struggle with feelings of disconnection from others despite the benefits of working from home.
- Neon charges affordable hourly and daily rates for access to their co-working spaces, fostering a sense of community among young professionals.
- The concept of third spaces presents an opportunity for remote workers to improve both their productivity and social lives.
Working from home has the obvious perks. You save on the commute time and the costs of commuting gas is expensive right now. You have more control over your schedule. A lot of people seem to like that, but it is easy to feel disconnected from people. Now, E.T. I. Hodd shows us one San Francisco startup is trying to solve that problem with something in between the office and the living room.
A marketer for a tech company in San Francisco, Catherine Britt, knows firsthand the perks of working from home. For one thing, you can't beat the commute. It is straight from bed to desk and maybe I'll pass through the kitchen to eat on the way. But even though she loves the flexibility, Exactly, yep. As a newcomer to the city, one thing she didn't anticipate was the loneliness. I have great connections remotely with coworkers, but there's something different about actually talking to people.
She tried a few neighborhood coffee shops, but that turned out to be less than ideal. When I'm in Starbucks, I end up getting coffees and scones just to honestly feel like I can stay in that space. That's when she stumbled on a new startup called Neon. Park co-working space, Park Friendship Club. Here she can type away without any guilt, while making connections with other young professionals. I come here and I know I'm going to get work done, and then when I close my laptop, I can see people that I love hanging out with. Neon is one of several community building venues that have popped up around the city in response to remote working.
Called third spaces, they're essentially physical locations other than work and home with little or no admission fees. Neon charges $5 an hour for internet service or $25 for the whole day. Teddy Kramer, the owner, used to oversee the expansion of WeWork and new markets. He says the idea was to create a place where people can work during the day, while being able to meet like-minded individuals at night. We're trying to get people out of their pajamas, getting them back into spaces that will make them not just productive, but feel more connected to themselves and their neighbors. How are you? Good. For Catherine, it was the best of all worlds.
Not only is she meeting new people, her work has gotten better. It's kind of like when you take a trip, you come back and you feel really refreshed. Creating a third space as a first line of defense against loneliness.
The concept of third spaces like Neon's Park Friendship Club provides a potential solution for remote workers seeking a balance between productivity and social connections. As the trend of remote work continues, these community building venues may play a significant role in alleviating the sense of isolation experienced by many.