Workabout Launches Flexible Workspace Marketplace to Revolutionize the Way People Work
On Monday 15 July, 2024, Workabout, the innovative booking platform app for flexible, on-demand workspace, officially launched its flexible workspace marketplace. The platform aims to make flexible working easier and more accessible than ever before, offering a one-stop solution for hourly and daily bookings with no binding membership or contract required. This launch marks a significant step towards creating a more efficient and efficient way of working, similar to booking a ride with Uber or ordering food through Just Eat.
The marketplace boasts over 500 high-quality local and city-based workspaces, including hot desks, private offices, meeting rooms, co-working spaces, and event spaces. Users can easily search for their desired workspace, with a range of amenities to suit their individual needs. This “AirBNB style” marketplace features leading workspace partner brands such as Landmark, Runway East, Bruntwood, Fora, Clockwise, and Spacemade, among many others. The best part? No membership is required to book at these partner brands – simply sign up for free, pay as you go, and enjoy the freedom to work your way.
The flexibility of Workabout’s marketplace makes it a perfect solution for businesses, start-ups, employees, and freelancers in need of a quick, efficient, and cost-saving solution for booking flexible workspace. And the future looks even brighter for this self-seeded start-up, with plans to launch Teams and HQ workplace management SaaS tools later this year, as well as expand their marketplace globally.
Workabout’s core ethos revolves around the understanding that everyone works differently. Whether someone is looking for a dedicated workspace away from a noisy coffee shop, a private meeting room to collaborate with team members, a vibrant co-working community, or a pet-friendly hot desk, Workabout has something for everyone. The idea for the platform was born when founder and CEO Jeffrey Davidson recognized the changing ways people wanted to work post-pandemic.
Davidson explains, “There is a substantial demand for flexible working, and the question is, as businesses, how do we efficiently evolve and adapt outdated work models to address this? The process of booking workspace was overly complicated, and I felt there needed to be a more efficient way.”
Studies have shown that hybrid working can make employees happier, healthier and more productive, such as the 2024 study published in the scientific journal Nature by Nick Bloom, a professor of economics at Stanford University. With many businesses struggling to find the right balance between working from home or returning to the office, Davidson’s own experience has led him to believe that embracing technology and a human-focused approach is the key to finding the right balance.
He says, “My business has always been office-based. The pandemic opened my eyes to what is possible in business when you embrace technology and the flexibility it enables. Adopting new ways to work can bring huge benefits to make how we work more efficient, with greater access to choice, opportunities, and also cost-saving.”
The Workabout team has an authentic understanding of the benefits of flexible working, with a remote-first ethos and a team working flexibly yet collaboratively from every corner of the UK. They even get to use the Workabout platform to book workspace when they need it. Workabout’s Chief of Communications, Ebony Ava Johnson, shares her personal experience, saying, “I am a single parent living in a lovely but remote village in Lancashire. Workabout’s flexible ethos has given me access to an amazing job that would otherwise have been inaccessible to me because of my location. Flexible working has offered crucial support to our team members with families, and we can’t imagine working any other way now.”
Workabout is committed to curating workspaces where people need it. Davidson explains that the platform’s list of workspace partners is continuously growing, with the team constantly working with clients to add workspaces in and around towns and cities where they are needed, to avoid long and unnecessary commutes. He adds, “For each of us, our ideal workspace looks vastly different. Workabout’s goal is to provide a perfect workspace for everyone, wherever and whenever they need it.”
To learn more about Workabout and sign up for free, visit their website at https://www.workabout.com/meet/marketplace. You can also follow them on LinkedIn at https://uk.linkedin.com/company/workaboutglobal and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/workaboutglobal/.
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.