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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space through trusted contacts. "You're spending a lot of time with the other people in close confines, so it has to be a quiet person and we have to get on," says Derbyshire, who is now in her fourth shared office. The current space has five offices, each with double tenancy, and costs €100 a month – fairly standard for Berlin, where coworking is popular, partly due to the relatively low cost. Populated by journalists, graphic designers and filmmakers, the set-up is so informal Derbyshire had to bring her own desk. A separate space For freelancers such as Dirs, who need occasional access, a hot-desk package may be the most affordable choice. However, a major benefit of renting an allocated desk space is that you can leave your work materials at the office. "It's been quite liberating to have my dictionaries and work things out of the house," says Derbyshire – a sentiment echoed by medical translator Angela Dickson. "It helps me to treat work as a separate part of my life. Rather than having work things staring at me all the time, I go out to work and then forget about it, to an extent, when I go home," says Dickson, who had been suffering from the lack of natural light in a basement office at her home in Coventry, and now pays £130 a month for a shared office, which includes basic services such as electricity and an internet connection. There is no official management, so she provides OCTOBER/NOVEMBER The Linguist 19 Vol/53 No/5 2014 FEATURES her own back-up solutions, although the 'lead tenants' have dealt with any technical problems swiftly so far. Lambert also has 24-hour access, but finds that having the separate work space makes it easier for her to stick to normal office hours. "Because I love my job, I'm inclined to keep doing it and take on more. Having that physical gap made it easier to regulate how much I take on," she explains. Making connections For Derbyshire, the social element is the biggest plus. Going for lunch with coworkers offers a much-needed break from the intense task of translation. "It also broadens your horizons, because you see what other people are doing with their lives," she says. At The Guild, socialising is encouraged by management, who organise a variety of events. In a more organic space, it can "depend on the constellation of people," says Lambert, who has found the social aspect lacking – possibly because four of the seven rooms are still empty after a year. Dickson agrees that underuse can be a problem. Although she often has lunch with her current coworkers, at the first space she tried, "it ended up a lot of the time being just me." Joining a hub has been compared to joining a gym, where people pay a membership fee but don't actually go. However, this tends to happen when the space doesn't suit the user's needs, says Dirs, who lasted just six months in his first shared office because it was too far from home and the city centre. All four freelancers consider one of the benefits to be working with people who are not translators. For Derbyshire, "it's a good way to learn to talk about my own work in a way that non-linguists will understand." Dickson agrees: "It's very easy to get bogged down in a translation and explaining the broad outline of what I'm trying to do in lay terms helps me to remember why I'm doing it." Derbyshire has even found work through friends of coworkers, and currently shares with a journalist who interviewed her about a book she had translated, bringing welcome publicity. She has worked alongside several linguists – all German speakers – who were able to help with translation conundrums. Although Dickson has not been able to accept any of the assignments offered by her coworkers, sharing with creative professionals has broadened her range of contacts. "You never know what sorts of connections you might make," adds Dirs. "I've recently met someone who is a copywriter and that's an area that I'm looking to get more involved in." They all agree that they are either more productive or happier in the shared environment. For freelancers working from home the question might be 'can I afford a coworking space?' For those already using one, the answer will be 'can you afford not to?' WORKING TOGETHER: The Guild in Bath (above left); and Katy Derbyshire's desk (above)