Toronto celebrates its first Coworking Toronto Day today, officially acknowledging the new reality of how work gets done in this city. Coworking Toronto Day belongs to all of freelancers and entrepreneurs who thrive in supportive, productive, and collaborative work environments. Huddling for warmth in one of the many coworking spaces in Toronto helps beat the winter blues and contributes to the local economy.
Global surveys conducted by Deskmag report that 58 percent of members were working from home before joining a coworking space. The surveys also reported that 42 percent of members join coworking spaces for knowledge sharing and 68 percent of coworkers report improved focus and an increase in creativity. With 1.1 million small businesses in Canada, independent workers are discovering a new way to work.
“As the global economy fundamentally changes we will see more and more independent, mobile and part-time workers and more university graduates will choose to pursue opportunities as startups and entrepreneurs as traditional job creation and opportunity stagnates,” Christine Andrews, Founder of Acme Works told BetaKit. “All of these workers will need and want somewhere to work – somewhere other than the isolation of from home or the frustration of working from a coffee shop and coworking spaces will meet that need.”
Acme Works is an independent coworking space housing a range of members including independents, entrepreneurs, consultants and startups. Over 75 individuals and 20 separate companies call Acme home, according to Andrews. Acme Works is also a member of the Coworking Toronto collective, working to raise the profile of coworking, share best practices, and help connect professionals with the right coworking spaces and projects.
“We’ve also seen the Toronto community grow considerably in the last few years in particular,” says Rachel Young, Founder of Camaraderie Coworking. “What started as three Toronto coworking spaces talking about working on projects together has grown to a collective of coworking spaces across the city. As more spaces join the collective, there’s even more reason to set aside a day to celebrate together.”
Every year Toronto seems to grow more coworking spaces and places, so it’s great to see the city embracing and celebrating the trend. Happy Coworking Toronto Day, everyone!