Eva Belvončíková (p), Elisabete Tomaz, Maria Assunção Gato

Mina Akhavan

After a slow start, the phenomenon of coworking has grown in popularity exponentially around the world. Its spatial location has recently been the subject of study seeking to understand how these dynamics occur in different socio-cultural, political, and economic contexts. The location and evolution of coworking spaces in Lisbon and Bratislava have been shaped by a variety of factors, including economic development, urban planning, and the growth of the coworking industry, which has multiplied in recent years, with a significant increase in the number of coworking spaces in both cities. However, this dynamic was strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, the Ukrainian conflict. These unprecedented events have profound and long-term impacts on where and how we work.

This paper aims to map the location of current coworking spaces and analyze them in light of these global events. We updated the information collected before and during the pandemic through documentary research, interviews, and site visits. Preliminary results show that: a) rapid growth during the pre-pandemic period had a significant drop in pandemic years 2020 and 2021, with particular impact on smaller CWS; b) With pandemic relief, larger coworking spaces, especially connected with real estate companies or CWS networks continued to emerge in both cities; c) the growth in the number of coworking spaces, reflect new typologies, less focused on the community and collaborative values than those in the beginnings of the movement; d) some new spaces appeared in the new business/development parts of both capitals, near the Tagus and Danube rivers, and in their suburbs; e) rising cost of living and energy and rising rents have had a negative impact on potential new coworkers (small business owners, civil servants, independent workers, and freelancers) as they choose to stay working from home rather than moving to a CWS.

Eduarda Marques Da Costa, Ana Louro, Pedro Franco (p), Paulo Morgado, Nuno Marques da Costa

Eva Belvončíková

The work and workplace have been redesigned in the last few years, as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the need of the adoption of different work regimes. Amongst these regimes is teleworking, being the one that had the biggest adoption, in fact, there was a significant increase in the number of employees working remotely across the EU, a trend that started with the pandemic but seems to not go away. This work focuses on the evolution of remote work in Portugal, focusing on the regional and the economic activity scopes, analyzing the asymmetries that derive from that in such an ever-changing process. Using data from pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods, we found out that in Portugal this work regime emerged as a response to the COVD-19 reality and the necessities of economic production but maintained its preponderance after it, especially in activities linked to the most specialized functions and in the core economic region. This work aims to be the first approach of the REMOBIL project to teleworking, constituting the characterization of the Portuguese reality while also being the basic element that will support the development of its future tasks, namely, being the foundational reference for the surveys that will be applied to companies and its employees with the purpose to assess the impacts of the adoption of telework (and e-shopping) on new geographies of mobility and urban form.

Aleid Brouwer, Mina Akhavan (p)

Pedro Franco

Whereas in the past, offices were required to accommodate employees with business activities, mobile technology and changing attitudes towards work made it possible to work anywhere, at any time. On the other hand, The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated teleworking and new ways of working, therefore seeking alternative solutions for traditional office settings. This impact is, however, different in gender; some studies have shown that working from home has imposed disproportionate burdens on female entrepreneurship and women workers in general, also considering the work/life balance, well-being and community.
In this transition and growing demand for flexible working, the phenomenon of coworking has been widely applied and discussed over the past decade. A shift towards working environment preferences led to a new and sparsely researched concept of female-centred and female-only coworking spaces.
This explorative and qualitative study aims to contribute to further knowledge that stems from Dutch female-centred coworking locations. Through 17 semi-structured interviews with providers and users, the determinants of users' choice of female-only coworking spaces are sought. Results show that whereas rental costs are expected to be most important in the choice to work at a coworking space, motives were more often related to social interaction, atmosphere décor and location in the female-only coworking spaces. However, only for a small part of the women, the female-only aspect is the main reason to work where they work.