Co-Working: The Future Accommodations of Choice for Millennial Co-working has changed the outlook of offices and empowered people allowing better control of their time and resources to balance work and life

By Peter Yu

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Shutterstock

The things that millennial strive for are significantly different from previous generations, and planning for a future where millennial become the predominant demographic in the workforce is a concern that organisations face. As the time comes closer for when they take that mantle, they have made changes to the way we approach work and life, what was looked upon as generational quirks, and have steadily become norms that we accept.

Co-working has changed the outlook of offices and empowered people allowing better control of their time and resources to balance work and life. Sentiments that co-working, as we call it now, will be the default workspace in the near future. This idea permeates through to how we will approach living and housing, where co-living could be the preferred means in which millennial choose to live.

At first glance, co-living addresses one of the main key points that millennial face — the ability to buy their own homes.

Pic: Millennial housing statistics at a glance

Being in long-term debt is a big issue that millennial have to contend with. Millennial owe a record amount of debt and find it harder to have the financial means and leverage to afford big-ticket purchases.

The issue of tight finances is compounded by student debt loans that Bloomberg cites as a major barrier to home ownership and disproportionately lower earnings in comparison to previous generations.

A shift in the focus of millennial plays an important part in the change of attitudes that stems from a different hierarchy of needs, valuing experiences over possessions. This results in the idea of having a place to stay, which does not directly equate to home ownership.

Following the change of attitudes towards experiences, a staggering 88 per cent of millennial preferred collaboration as opposed to competition, citing friendships and meaningful relationships as a driving factor in taking on and staying at a job.

Pic: Work motivations and expectations that attract millennial

Looking at those statistics, it comes as no surprise that the sharing economy has found such success, a study by PWC gives insight to the disruptions that different industries have faced, changing the way we view ownership and the challenges that goods and service providers have to face in an increasingly competitive space.

The sharing economy has been tried and tested through the co-working and hospitality spaces, putting that aside from the fact that millennial are open to places with reasonable rent, and co-living becomes the next extension to the model.

No matter what the setup — from one that scales from a simple co-working space with a bed thrown in, to larger, more elaborate spaces — the attraction in the co-living spaces comes in the opportunities to create better relationships with people who share their same values, while evoking the benefits of having a community for emotional and social support.

Being in a space where the relationships made can spawn into professional collaborations and vice versa, the draws of co-living for millennial hold many advantages that go beyond attractive asking prices.

These sentiments along with the trends and lifestyles that millennial have adopted should give companies serious considerations that co-living will be the future setup of living that millennial will eagerly adopt. Knowing what co-living spaces will need to separate them from the rest will shape the next push, as we begin to see more sophisticated, and thought out iterations of this mode of living.

Peter Yu

General Manager, Campfire Collaborative Spaces

Peter is a digital PR strategist & inbound marketeer who passionately champions the future
of collaborative spaces at Campfire.work. He has worked as head PR for various successful startups like Dropmysite (reverse-IPO) and Folr (multi-million dollar acquisition). He specializes in creating meaningful and long-lasting conversations about game-changing businesses that go after grand ideas.
Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Growing a Business

7 AI Tools That Help You Build a One-Person Business — and Make Money While You Sleep

Who needs a team? These seven AI tools let you automate everything, scale like a beast and reclaim your time.

Business Solutions

Cut Software Costs: Get Microsoft Office 2024 for Life With a One-Time Investment

No subscriptions, no stress—get Excel, Word, Outlook, and more with a one-time payment of $160.

Side Hustle

Entrepreneur+ Subscriber-Only Event | May 7: From Prompt to Profit: How To Build a Side Hustle Using ChatGPT

Subscribe to Entrepreneur+ for just $5! Get access to all member benefits, including our next Subscriber-Only Event with Lee Kojanis & Danielle Orellana, Founders of Mitts.

Franchise

I Thought I Knew Finance — Then I Took Over My Family's Franchise. Here Are The Hard Truths I Learned.

Even with an MBA in finance, I wasn't ready for the messy reality of small-business money management — until I learned these hard truths.

Marketing

Content Marketing Trends for 2020: Are we ready?

With every click on the keyboard, there is content being added to this virtual infinite universe that is being created, trillions of pieces of content get created every day