Co-constructing a Sense of Community at Work: The Emergence of Community in Coworking Spaces

Abstract

The nature of work has become increasingly flexible and autonomous, leading many workers to feel isolated and socially adrift as they are increasingly working virtually or remotely. To address this challenge, independent workers are beginning to work in coworking spaces – shared spaces where independent workers do their work alone but together with the express purpose of creating a feeling of community. In this study, we draw on ethnographic observation and interviews to analyze how members of one coworking space work together to co- construct a sense of community through their day-to-day practices in the space. We introduce a performativity lens to research on community in the workplace and develop a conceptualization of community as a co-constructed accomplishment through engagement in a set of community- oriented practices. We identify three pathways to creating a sense of community: espousing, learning, and enacting. Each pathway represents a different form of community work that members can choose to engage in to achieve a desired level of community. The rapidly growing coworking movement offers insights, as uncovered in this study, on how to integrate an authentic sense of community into the world of work.