By Bond Collective Staff
Day offices are a new trend in workspace allocation that makes it easy to manage both on-site employees and remote employees alike. But what exactly are day offices, and how can they benefit your business?
We’ll answer those questions in this article.
What Are Day Offices?
Day offices are fully-equipped, private office spaces that you can reserve for as little as one hour or as much as a full day.
Think of day offices as part-time offices. Yes, it’s a desk, chair, four walls, and a door for your exclusive use, but it’s only yours for one workday (if you choose to retain it that long). When your time is up, someone else takes their turn.
This is in sharp contrast to the more traditional office model that many businesses still maintain.
Day Offices Vs. The Traditional Office Model
The traditional office model of the late twentieth century revolved around the concept of assigning each team member their own personal cubicle or small desk.
Employees reported to and worked from these assigned desks until they moved to a different position or department within the business.
The shift from the traditional office model to the coworking office model in the early part of the 21st century introduced a new kind of workspace allocation: hot desking.
In hot desking, workspaces are occupied on a first-come, first-served basis or reserved ahead of time for more convenience. The foundation of this concept is that desks, tables, and chairs have no permanent “owner,” and workers use whatever is available.
Day offices are the evolution of the coworking/hot desking model with one important difference and one important similarity.
The Difference Between Day Offices And Hot Desking
The difference between day offices and hot desking lies in the type of workspace your business has available.
While the hot desking model relies on individual desks that are located side-by-side with other desks in large, open, communal rooms, day offices are enclosed spaces that offer more privacy to the user.
The typical day office features at least one desk and chair (sometimes more), along with four walls and a door to reduce the noise of the communal space nearby.
The Similarity Between Day Offices And Hot Desking
The similarity to hot desking lies in how your business allocates the workspace.
Like the first-come, first-served desks of the hot desking model, employees arrive at work, choose (or are assigned) an office, and work there for the day (or as long as they’re in the building).
Day office occupants change frequently — sometimes within the same day — and can even be part of a shared desk program that accommodates multiple remote workers.
Your business may also choose to allow employees to reserve a specific office for an extended period of time (e.g., days, weeks, or a few months). This is known as hoteling and has become an integral part of the hybrid workplace model that developed in the mid-2010s.
How Can Day Offices Benefit Your Business?
1) Professional Image
A professional image is important not just for impressing customers and clients, but also for encouraging the productivity of your team.
Day offices are usually located in attractively designed spaces in buildings with addresses your business might not be able to afford on its own.
That — in conjunction with other design elements including natural light, vibrant colors, and comfortable-yet-functional furniture — makes day offices the perfect way to establish a professional image without the stress and expense of doing it yourself.
2) Infrastructure
Day offices include the infrastructure your business needs to get the job done without the hassle of coordinating it all yourself.
Essentials such as electricity, water, gas, internet, tech support, cleaning, and procuring daily office supplies can occupy a good portion of your workday.
Even if you’ve got those items taken care of, there are always minor jobs, such as refilling the toner and paper in the printer, that absolutely must be done before your team can make progress.
When you work from a day office in a coworking space, all of that is taken care of for you, like the coworking space in Washington DC.
3) Low Overhead
Productivity isn’t always measured by how much work you get done in a single day. Sometimes, it’s measured by how much money you can save in the process.
Day offices reduce the cost of overhead to almost nil. That allows you to focus your time, energy, and hard-earned capital on the more important aspects of productivity: getting the work done.
4) Flexibility
One of the many unique and beneficial aspects of this type of work arrangement is its flexibility. You can expand and contract the space you use to fit your business needs at a moment’s notice.
Doing so can help you save money and adapt to fluctuations in productivity — and the market itself — that are inevitable in the business world.
5) Location
Location, like professional image, can have a profound effect on your team’s productivity.
A remote space without restaurants, cafes, and other businesses nearby has a tendency to sap creativity and reduce productivity — not to mention being inconvenient for customers and clients.
But day offices provide beautiful, curated work environments in the heart of business districts across the country.
6) Comfort
The comfort of your office space is essential for helping you and your team members stay focused, engaged, and productive while they work.
Can your business afford to make the work environment comfortable with plush settees, comfy sofas, adjustable-height desks, and ergonomic chairs?
With day offices, comfort is built in. Many are located in spaces with the finest that luxury has to offer. That way, your team members will be happy and productive all day long.
7) Stress-Free Setup
When your team uses this type of setting, all the hard work of setting up furniture, installing technology, decorating the space, and making sure the utilities are working is done for you.
All you have to do is show up and get to work. No stress included.
8) Business Mindset
If you’re an entrepreneur, small-business owner, or team manager, taking your business seriously can be difficult at first — especially when you’re doing most of the work at your kitchen table or a corner booth at the local coffee shop.
But when you base your business or your team in day offices, you create a business mindset that you can’t generate any other way.
A business mindset means better focus, improved creativity, and increased motivation to get the job done.
9) Focus And Structure
Working remotely has its own set of advantages. But the abundance of distractions that come with working outside a dedicated office quickly outweigh the benefits.
TV, pets, your family, your bed, the couple at the next table, and even just excess noise — these distractions can pull your focus away from what you and your team should be doing to build your business.
Running your business from day offices helps you and your team keep your work life separate from everything else and lends your day structure.
The Best Day Offices And More In One Space
The simplest and most cost-effective way to enjoy all the benefits of day offices is to partner with a coworking space in your area.
Bond Collective, for example, offers hot desking, hoteling (dedicated desks), conference rooms, and even private offices (or suites) that you can access on a day-to-day basis in all of their beautifully decorated work environments.
With Bond Collective, your business will have the space to take on any job, large or small.
Bond Collective also offers industry-leading amenities you can’t get anywhere else, including:
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Lightning-fast WiFi
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Photo and sound studio (Gowanus only)
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Guest reception and greeting
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Regular on-site cleaning
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Mail service
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Complimentary beer, coffee, tea, water, and fresh fruit
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Other food and beverages for sale
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Office showers with towel service
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Bike storage
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Rooftop lounge area
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Mothers’ rooms
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Pet-friendly environments
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Curated and networking events
Whether you’re a solopreneur, an entrepreneur, a digital nomad, a startup, a small business, or a team of 100 or more, Bond Collective can accommodate all your day office needs.
Visit any one of Bond Collective’s many locations in the United States, including workspaces in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Illinois, Tennessee, California, and Texas. Or call us today to find out more about everything we have to offer.
And while you’re at it, schedule a tour to experience first-hand how the boutique work environments at Bond Collective can benefit your business.