Why shared is the new favourite word of the youth – shared living and shared office spaces
The number of students and working professionals aged between 18-35 has doubled in the last decade, making India a country with one of the most pronounced young citizens. With the youth fundamentally merging work with leisure, the way they live and work is changing. The underlying principle is that of sharing – shared living and working spaces.
The renting industry
The problems with the housing industry in India, especially its rental sector are too apparent and too many – from single women not finding suitable accommodation to middle men charging exorbitant fees, finding a place to stay is as big a concern as finding a place to work in. Though, the market has seen the entry of various online platforms – Housing.com, MagicBricks.com, among others, that offer rental services – the ground reality is far from their promised objectives.
Evolving preferences and passions
The youth in India is pursuing new and unconventional career opportunities – from dance therapists to pet clinics, their passions define their career path and also their lifestyle choices. A big office set-up is hardly a prerequisite for starting a venture and thanks to digital, having a small desk is sometimes all an entrepreneur needs, making shared office spaces the ideal set-up for such ventures to work from.
Scarcity of resources
Though the real estate industry might be experiencing a slump, its customers still have to pay excessive amounts for places that do not even match their requirements – be it for commercial or for residential realty. Soaring rents is the common problem that has united the youth and led them to work together and out of shared working spaces, and even live in shared housing spaces. If numbers are to be believed, JLL India says that 2016-17 has seen a massive spike in the growth of the co-working industry, which will grow further and some centres may experience 100% occupancy in some of the major metropolitan cities of the country.
An extension of the start-up culture
India is turning into becoming one of the global hubs for start-ups – budding entrepreneurs, capital loaded VCs, growing infrastructure and internet capabilities are all resulting in nurturing start-ups that promise and deliver to their customers. However, resources are still limited.Despite the limited resources, with Indians having a knack for making the most of what they have – sharing resources is the fix that has worked for them. Shared office spaces and living spaces has led to a collaboration that has benefitted the generation in multiple ways – be it to network, scale or even target.
Brownie points that shared spaces offer
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