The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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18 The Linguist OCTOBER/NOVEMBER www.ciol.org.uk FEATURES Could a shared office space be the answer to the challenges of working from home, asks Miranda Moore O liver Dirs is out with his coworkers to celebrate a 'workiversary' of sorts. It's a year since The Guild – the office space they all share – opened in Bath city centre, and it seems as good a reason as any for a get-together. Coworking spaces come in all shapes and sizes – from serviced offices with a range of facilities, to informal arrangements above shops or artists' studios. The Guild falls into the former category, carefully designed to meet most working requirements, with a quiet room (perfect for translators such as Dirs), a bustling 'engine room', meeting rooms and booths for taking phonecalls, as well as a 'fixed abode' office for those who pay a premium of £359 a month to have their own desk. Dirs, owner of Hilltop Language, had been getting increasingly fed up of being stuck in the house, and The Guild offered a neat solution to the home office. He signed up as soon as it opened and opted for the £84-a- month plan, which entitles him to 30 hours' access a month. "Just knowing that, if you need to get out of the house, the hub is there, is a good feeling," he says. "I'm happier with my work as a result." Freelancers can often feel isolated, and the lack of human contact and separation between work and home life can have a negative impact on health and wellbeing. As literary translator Katy Derbyshire testifies, moving into a shared office can redress this feeling of isolation "immediately". It is hardly surprising that, at a time when flexible and home working is growing, there has been a boom in such facilities. Between 2010 and 2013, coworking spaces quadrupled to 2,500 worldwide, with three opening every day in the year from March 2012. This is particularly striking when you consider that coworking, as a concept, only really emerged in 2002, with the opening of a 'community centre for entrepreneurs' in Vienna. The first 'hub', offering a more complete office environment, followed three years later in London. Such spaces now exist around the world, although they are still most popular in the USA, UK, Germany and Spain. Hubs offer a range of facilities, from landline accounts and wifi to use of scanners, printers and other equipment, and access to kitchen areas, meeting rooms and often a café. However, for many translators, a less formal, no-frills set-up may be more attractive, offering 24-hour access at an affordable rate. Kate Lambert, who works from Swedish/ Finnish into English, had been "going insane from lack of contact with people" while working from home after a move to Bristol. "A serviced, business-like office space seemed too expensive and something I didn't really need as a one-man-band," she says. Instead, she hired space in an artist's studio, providing her own equipment, and installing an internet connection and phone line. After another move, this time to Somerset, she now rents an office above a community apple press, which has a similar arrangement. At just £100 a month, "it's worth every penny". Initially Lambert's needs were mainly social. However, after having children, the desire for a clear division between home and work life became more acute. "I found that being the full-time breadwinner and working in the house, with my husband looking after our three children, was impossible. Now everybody knows when I'm working and when I'm at home," she explains. "It makes the boundaries much clearer." Derbyshire was in a similar position, working in the corner of a flat in Berlin with a young child. Unhappy with her first two spaces (one was open-plan and noisy; the other involved a long commute), she decided to find her next A fair share? • Search for coworking spaces in the UK at www.officegenie.co.uk/deskspace; in Europe at www.desksurfing.net; and globally at www.goodcoworking.com and http://wiki.coworking.org. • http://coworkingeu.wordpress.com has a list of websites for spaces in Europe. • Attend the Coworking Europe Conference in Lisbon, 24-26 November (http://coworkingeurope.net). • Still unsure? Why not try a one-day coworking event by www.colleaguesontap.com (UK) or http://wiki.workatjelly.com (worldwide). GETTING INVOLVED