Third Places to Work in the Digital Age: Implications from Coworking Space Users' Motivations and Preferred Environmental Features

Abstract

In light of the continued growth of the digitization and changing economy, work is increasingly not an identifiable place to go, but a virtual network containing individuals who still need to be connected with the support of a tangible community. The trend has fueled the rise of the widespread coworking phenomenon, referring to a style of work commonly adopted by independent, mobile workers. The objective of this research was three-fold: (1) to understand the importance of physical workplace in motivating people to use the coworking spaces; (2) to evaluate the importance and satisfaction of environmental features; and (3) to generate design toolkit for third places to work in the digital age. As the main methodology, Coworking Space Survey was developed and tested with 75 participants recruited from the current coworking communities. This research has implications for evaluating, creating, or reimagining the third places to work in the new era.