Remote Teams Are Returning to the Office— On Their Own Terms
After Covid closed her company’s dedicated office, Lynsey Wilson, a Senior Salesforce Enablement Specialist for local tech company Torrent Consulting, and her coworkers found themselves craving something most wouldn’t expect to miss: the office.
While they appreciated the flexibility of being fully remote, they struggled with the isolation from each other, and missed the in-person interactions. With an increasingly blurred line between her work life and personal life, the comforts of home began to feel like constraints, as distractions at home prevented her from shifting into a productive headspace.
Not only that, she missed the buzz of an office. From brainstorming sessions to casual water cooler chats, some things just couldn’t be replicated remotely. So her team turned to Cahoots, a coworking space in downtown Ann Arbor. Their company booked them a flexible pod of desks to be able to collaborate from, and they immediately felt the difference. She’s not alone - as more teams start to work their way back to the office, they’re finding coworking is the perfect way to blend the flexibility of remote life with the perks of the office.
In a recent study by Business magazine, people who shifted to coworking reported both increased collaborations with coworkers and an improvement in their social life. And it’s easier ask for help when it’s as simple as turning to the person next to you instead of requesting a meeting. Additionally, many people reported increased productivity from having a dedicated working space that was separate from their home.
Lynsey was also able to expand her network beyond her immediate team. Whether it’s banter with baristas while getting a latte and bagel sandwich from Cahoots Cafe, or connecting with an employee from a company in a different part of the building as they heat up their lunch, Lynsey found new people to connect with. She even created a plant propagation library - a hanging wall holder for plant cuttings so people throughout the space can share cuttings and their love for green things. People loved the plant clippings but had questions, so Cahoots Café partnered with The Planted Life to host a propagation workshop where other coworkers could learn how to grow their plant clippings. And when Cahoots hosted a chili cook-off, her team all showed up with crockpots of chili to compete for the winning bean. For their team, coworking was the perfect blend of workplace camaraderie while still having quiet space to be productive and focus.
A New Kind of Team Dynamic
Not far from Lynsey’s desk, another team is redefining their workplace. A growing team with employees in Michigan recently made Cahoots their local hub. While their employees are able to work remotely, the team’s leader recognized the need for a space where their Ann Arbor-based employees could collaborate in person.
While this team regularly uses the conference rooms to host collaborative sessions, they’ve also made use of the built-in office culture at Cahoots by attending events like Flock, a weekly lunch time gathering. Each week has a different cadence - from silent reading time to sharing monthly wins, Flock provides built in social interaction for those seeking it. Members started creating their own programming like weekly informal happy hours, which has brought even more opportunities for members to unwind and get to know new folks in the community.
These teams are examples of a new norm that is emerging as companies seek to reinstate the benefits of the office without compromising the flexibility of remote workers. By renting a cluster of desks in a coworking space, they found they can offer these new hires a place to work in the office when they want to, and remotely when they don’t, without incurring the cost of a dedicated office and subsequent pressure to require team members to come into the office consistently.
Coworking: The Future of Flexible Work
As companies continue to navigate the balance between remote work and in-person collaboration, coworking spaces like Cahoots are emerging as a key solution. For remote workers like Lynsey, they offer a chance to rebuild the human connections often lost in fully remote environments.
At the end of the day, it’s all about being able to offer choices. If somebody wants to come in and collaborate or go out for a team lunch, they can. And if somebody feels they need to work from home for the day - it’s not a big deal. For teams navigating how to re-introduce the office, they are finding coworking offers a perfect balance between autonomy, productivity, and collaboration.
For those searching for a way to bring back the benefits of office culture while keeping the perks of remote work, coworking spaces are proving to be the perfect middle ground. And in downtown Ann Arbor, Cahoots is proud to be leading the way—one desk, one lunch, and one happy hour at a time.
Want to be in Cahoots? Send us a note and we’ll schedule a free tour and trial, our join our next Drop in Day to try it out.
