An Exploration of WeWork: A Series of Paradoxes in the Coworking Space

Abstract

As the makeup, motivations, and capability of those in the workforce evolve, the workplace evolves with it. In non-traditional offices, such as coworking spaces like WeWork, the once dichotomous entities of work life and home life seem to increasingly blur. With such changes, what kind of tensions does this present in the workplace? What does this say for the future of organized work? Through conducting interviews and observations in WeWork spaces, I discovered a series of three paradoxical phenomena. The sociomaterial lens became the most salient way to uncover and illustrate these tension-filled practices. Through this lens and my amassed qualitative data, I highlight the following paradoxical phenomena: The “Flexibility Paradox,” “Coworking Paradox,” and “Generational Performativity.” This dynamic poses important unintended consequences for the future of work. While workers differently relate to their space and other materials in it than they have in the past, workspaces continue to adjust.