Coworking Spaces: A Place To Work

Coworking spaces give you a place to work. As a bonus, you get to see other humans. Being an entrepreneur or remote worker can be isolating, but coworking spaces are full of people like you. Working alongside them helps you avoid loneliness.

Some spaces have taken that perk to the extreme. They’ve decided that coworking should be fun. They host mixers, ping-pong tournaments, and yoga classes. Those activities are entertaining, but they don’t help you work.

Mandatory fun or a place to work

Hampton Roads, the home of College Park Executive Suites, has a strong U.S. Navy presence. The sailors here have a name for these types of activities. They call them “mandatory fun.” It’s fun that’s forced on you. Fun that doesn’t feel optional. You must participate if you want to be part of the group.

The worst situation is when mandatory fun happens during business hours. Imagine you’re on a conference call. You need to focus, but the noise of an over-enthusiastic lunch-and-learn echoes down the hall. You wonder if you should have just done this meeting from your car. At least it would have been quiet.

That’s not to say we’re against fun. We love fun. Building relationships with coworkers is awesome. We just think that work should come first. So at College Park Executive Suites, we don’t host a happy hour or hallway desk chair races. Instead, we encourage one-on-one relationships. Coworkers can start a conversation over free coffee and tea in their offices or in the hallway. They can share lunch while sitting on comfy chairs in the lobby.

If you want networking options, owner Jackie Gilmartin can recommend some excellent networking groups in Hampton Roads. She’s been a part of the business community for nearly 20 years and has many professional connections.