The days are getting longer, and the national workforce is emerging as ‘work from home, if you can’ turns into ‘welcome back’.

We have dialled in from our bedrooms, made dining rooms our board rooms and sent our apologies as pets and postal workers puncture our day with pleasant interruptions. We have also been discovering how we can flex our time to get the most out of life. Commutes have been traded in for extra sleep through cold months and more time outside with pets on bright mornings.

These things are all marvellous, but this year has also taken those moments at work away from us where things just click. A face in a corridor that reminds you to check in on a project, the electric vibrancy of a room when your team are really performing and problem solving, and the chance to have a random conversation that turns into a real opportunity.

Co-work provides a solution to a blended approach to office based work:

Last year in the midst of the pandemic, Real Ideas launched our membership programme to give people access to our co-working facilities (more details on that here). We have and always will be solutions and opportunities focussed, and we know that our spaces have so much to offer the people that join us.

In addition to our free membership, which gives you access to news, opportunities and our webinar series, we created an affordable co-work solution, built keeping our community’s different working styles and needs in mind:

Connect – 4 days of a month, 1 hour of business coaching and discounts (ideal for freelancers, itchy feet entrepreneurs who want to hop between workspaces or folks who just need a change of scenery to focus) for £20.

All-In – Unlimited access to flexible co-working and making spaces across our campus, 4 days of meeting room use (or 8 half days), extensive support, mentoring and specialist training, first to know about exciting events, and free members’ breakfast, for £200.

Dedicated – Your own dedicated workspace or studio, incubation programme opportunities and extensive business support, unlimited access to our wider co-working facilities for when you need a more social work environment, 4 days of meeting room use (or 8 half days), extensive support, mentoring and specialist training, first to know about exciting events, and free members’ breakfast, for £250.

It’s not just Real Ideas who think co-work is the future:

– The Financial Times explored this new approach to work, and discovered that Natwest, Lloyds, Aon, Virgin Media, Centrica, and The Very Group all reported that in the post-covid world they intend to have a hybrid approach to work with their teams working from home and in the office.

– Working from home had clear benefits for worker well-being, but drawing a line in the sand at the end of the day has proved difficult for many people: “45% of respondents in the Engage Workplace survey felt they were working longer hours from home than in the office.”

– In the Deloitte Human Capitol Trends 2020, a trend was apparent – the future of team work is changing from location focussed to performance focussed, and for many that looks like having the comfort of home some of the time, and the energy of collaboration other times: “The power of teams comes from their ability to connect people with each other to unleash their collective capabilities. Tapping into those capabilities requires team members to understand and honor each individual’s wellbeing needs to create an environment in which the team can perform at its best.”

Where will you be joining us?

  • Our membership provides a way to gain the benefits of co-working with a great lifestyle – Devonport, home of the Devonport Guildhall, is a historic neighbourhood perched on the edge of the Tamar River, close enough to Plymouth city centre to be bustling – far enough out to escape the rush.
  • Ocean Studios is in a Grade 1 listed site at the far south west corner of the Plymouth, the Royal William Yard is home to lots of amazing eateries, a large green for events and working here means you’re only five minutes away from a wild swim at Firestone Bay.
  • Meanwhile, in Newquay the transition from surfing the web at our co-work CSpace to getting out back on your board is almost instantaneous.
  • This summer we will also be opening the south west’s home of immersive tech, the Market Hall is going to change the way we experience art, technology and interact with the world of us, all from a historic building just five minutes away from the Guildhall.