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More and more offices are being built in Switzerland that can be rented flexibly. The trend is now also reaching rural regions.
A co-working space will soon open where bank employees used to serve their customers. Employees or the self-employed should rent a table in the former bank branch of the rural community of Gossau (ZH): for a few hours, days or weeks.
Coworking spaces as a traffic jam killer?
The armored glass on the windows still bears witness to the banking past. In the basement there is a vault with lockers. But in the upper rooms there are tables with screens, keyboards and computer mice.
Place of work: former bank branch
The 20 workplaces were organized by the Otter Work association. Vice President Roger Hiestand sees the perfect mix in the regional coworking space: “You don’t work at home at the kitchen table, you can leave your own four walls. At the same time, you don’t have to put up with long journeys on public transport or traffic jams by car.»
Transport connections are important
The coworking space in Gossau is not an isolated case in Switzerland. Meiringen (BE) with its approximately 4800 inhabitants also offers rental offices. Others can be found in Altdorf (UR) or Steckborn (TG).
“The fact that there are more and more coworking spaces in rural areas is a positive trend,” says Claudius Krucker. He is co-president of the national association Coworking Switzerland and represents almost 200 shared offices.
The population increasingly wants a job nearby: “Coworking spaces in the country appeal to the self-employed and employees who don’t want to commute to a company office in the city every day.” Ideally, the transport connections are good, so that people from neighboring communities can also use the rental offices.
Silence instead of children screaming
In contrast to coworking spaces in cities, office spaces in the country are usually smaller. According to Krucker, the landlords are not profit-oriented companies, but people from the region who put their heart and soul into it.
Legend:
“We had a start-up loan of CHF 15,000 from the municipality,” says Roger Hiestand from the “Otter Work” association.
SRF / Elisabetta Antonelli
This is confirmed by the new opening in Gossau. The municipality developed the idea of the coworking space and was looking for volunteers. Roger Hiestand got in touch.
The 39-year-old has been using a coworking space for a long time. “I work in the IT industry. When we do our jobs, we often sit quietly at the computer and program something,” says Hiestand. This is possible undisturbed in the rental office. At the same time, he appreciates the exchange with others.
There are currently over 500 coworking spaces in Switzerland, eight times more than in 2016. And the trend is likely to continue: “The need to choose one’s place of work individually will remain,” says work psychologist Christoph Negri. He heads the Institute for Applied Psychology at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).
The atmosphere also counts
A coworking space is not ideal for everyone: “I know many people who continue to work in an office because they are comfortable and can work better.” Overall, however, coworking spaces offer many advantages: “They simply have to be well developed, have the right infrastructure and radiate a pleasant atmosphere.”
Only time will tell whether the former bank branch in Gossau will attract a large audience. The jobs are definitely ready. And the lockers can be used if someone is looking for a safe place for their valuables.