Image from http://hoffice.nu/en/
If you’ve ever worked from home, you know it can be lonely. If you’ve ever worked from a coffee shop, you know it can be noisy and inconvenient. If you’ve ever considered renting a desk in a co-working space, you know it can be expensive.
What you should know about is Hoffice – a network that is creating friendly, functional and free workspaces in people’s homes.
It’s really quite simple – people volunteer to open their homes for others to work in.
As you can imagine, each Hoffice environment is different. Hoffice hosts can determine when they open and close, when maximum number is reached, what features they offer (wifi, printer, quiet room for phone calls, etc.), how lunch will be organized (bring your own, potluck, etc.) and how the work environment will be (silent working, quiet chatting, etc.). Everything is organized and communicated through Facebook groups and events.
More than just a location, Hoffice provides a structured work day and supportive network of people.
Hoffice facilitators, volunteers who may or may not also be the host, kick-off the day with a moment of mindfulness where everyone states their day’s goals, and they keep each other accountable throughout the day. Based on productivity principles, Hoffice structures the day in 45 minute increments with fifteen minute breaks in between to walk, stretch, or play a game. With two minutes left in the break, everyone circles up to state their progress and goals for the next 45 minutes. Halfway through is an hour lunch break.
The Hoffice site states they “get more important things done by spending time taking care of ourselves, laughing and enjoying time together”. The structure is encouraged, but not mandatory.
What started as an informal experiment in a Swedish home in 2013 has grown to a network of people spanning 6 continents. While it is still most popular in Europe, Hoffices are popping up in increasingly larger numbers in Southern Asia, Brazil, Canada, and the United States. In the U.S., Hoffice networks have begun in Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, and San Francisco.
According to The Commercial Real Estate Development Association, only one co-working space existed in the U.S. in 2005. By 2013, there were 781. The majority of these are for-profit and charge around $1,300 per month. Hoffice – the free alternative – could very well be the new face of co-working space.
Would you try it?
