Several weeks ago we ran a grassroots survey asking people in Sacramento how they work. We used simple Google form and tallied the results ourselves. We asked 8 questions about things like how people describe their work, their work environment and how they feel about the way they work. From that survey, we learned a lot about the future of work, and how it’s changing right here in Sacramento.
Because we run a coworking space, we know that the industry is taking off nation- and world-wide. Sacramento, of course, has always been slower in adapting the latest trends, and coworking is no different. But we’ve always suspected that there’s a huge market for coworking here–just look at any local coffee shop and you could count at least 10 folks tapping away on their laptops night and day. Likely these folks are working.
If all you need to do your job is your laptop, you’re part of the mobile workforce: you can work whenever and wherever you want. But how many of those people are there in Sacramento? We never knew until we did our survey. Granted, this is a small slice of the pie–we got 50 responses–but, still, the numbers are staggering.
According to our results:
- 70% of respondents work from home–that’s a huge number! Of that number, 45% split their time between home and a coffee shop or some other location.
- 24% of respondents said working from home is not ideal.
- 55% of respondents describe themselves as self-employed in some capacity–whether that is freelancer, independent contractor or small business owner. Another 18% of respondents are full-time employees who also moonlight on the side.
- 49% of respondents said “it depends” when asked if they would pay for a workspace. Only 16% said, “no way.”
- 60% of respondents said they don’t know how much a workspace costs, and 38% said a workspace costs at least $500/mo.
- The two most important factors in a work environment are: quiet with few interruptions/distractions and reliable wifi. Convenient location, atmosphere and printer/copier/scanner were equally third most important.
So. What do we make of this data? A couple of things:
- Many people, yes even here in Sacramento, work from home and likely have a flexible workstyle.
- Many people are self-employed.
- Many people don’t know how much a dedicated workspace costs.
How does ThinkHouse specifically contribute to this workstyle shift?
When are we moving?
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How about the “new” address?
We won’t be far from where we are currently — it’s at 18th & Q Streets.
Congratulations on the new space!
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