Do I need to set up and rent an office somewhere or can I just hover between home and a selection of coffee joints? Let’s take a dive through the froth and bubble that has enveloped this crucial issue.
OK, perhaps we’re overplaying this a little.
The real reason we’ve launched this one-man inquiry is because Access was recently confronted with two separate “studies” – one advocating the coffee hangout as the best place to do your business while the other screamed ‘get the hell outta there’.
Our cynical engine immediately kicked into action. In the media world, of course, a study can consist of a PR operative ringing co-workers and friends with loaded questions that aim to push a particular barrow.
And “research” can be simply be cherry-picked elements of legitimate research which – when mixed with smattering of choice key words and cobbled together with a few opportune segues – flatteringly portrays an idea that, unsurprisingly, someone is trying to flog.
With that in mind, let’s look at the case for the affirmative – that is that the faux leather-upholstered booth in your coffee hangout, or whatever else is used to seat customers, should supersede your traditional office desk.
You’ve got to hand it to chief ‘coffice’ advocate Angela Vithoulkas. Not only is she an outstanding, award-winning businesswoman.
And not only is she an innovative marketer that had the intestinal fortitude to run against entrenched Mayoress, Clover Moore, at the last City of Sydney council elections, snaring herself a seat on council.
But when it comes to the notion of promoting the ‘coffice’ she emphatically puts her money where her mouth is at her VIVO Café in Sydney’s CBD.
“With new research showing that working in cafés can actually boost your creativity,” screams the media release.
Former Telstra Businesswoman of the Year, Angela Vithoulkas, has taken it to the extreme by launching the first global radio station based inside a café
“Eagle Waves Radio brings together the best of what business people and entrepreneurs want from their working day: a dose of topical, relevant information in a buzzy, creative environment,” she says.
Only problem with this is that the “new” research is about 15 months old. That aside, the study by US academics in Illinoise and Virginia explored “the effects of ambient noise on creative cognition” and found it played an enhancing role.
Ever the opportunist, Vithoulkas drew as long a bow as possible.
“There’s been a pronounced geographic shift in where corporate and entrepreneurial folk are choosing to do business,” Vithoulkas said.
“Bland and sterile workplaces are proving to be a turn off for many workers and with research showing that ambient background noise can actually help people to concentrate better, it’s no surprise that the café is the new office.”
She said the trend for working in cafés has reached new heights with the rise of the ‘coffice’ worker.
Vithoulkas’ media release also quotes another study of “almost one thousand” small businesses owners across Australia which purportedly found that 15 per cent of respondents “prefer to work in a cafe, or even a hotel foyer, for the ambience and convenience.
We trawled the internet and found absolutely no trace of the study, but we’ll take the media release reference as gospel. Why not? Most other media outlets would, their journalists and/or producers expected to fill more empty space with fewer hands on deck.
Vithoulkas suggests that business owners should take advantage of the ‘coffice’ trend.
“Café owners who recognise that ‘coffice’ workers see their venue as a de-facto office, a place where they might work for a few hours a day, can offer services such as wi-fi or even a tailored ‘work day’ menu for customers who stay for breakfast and lunch,” she said.
“Not only will this demonstrate they understand the needs of their clientele, it will also give customers a reason to come back – and in business that’s often the difference between success and failure.”
Meanwhile, over in the ‘doing business in the café is not such a good idea’ and armed with her own study to spruik her anti-café sentiments, is Jacqueline Lehmann, the Australia country head for flexible workspace provider Regus.
We shouldn’t have to spell this out but we will – a flexible workspace provider would prefer you pay it for space rather than get it for free at a café.
In a recent piece Lehmann penned for The Sydney Morning Herald, she wastes no time sowing the café seeds of doubt.
“Thanks to 21st Century mobility, and the rise of Australia’s savvy start-ups, more and more people are working from third places such as coffee shops,” Lehmann writes.
“But is this really a good idea for small business owners and their employees?”
She goes on to explain the link between the cafe and business is as old as the practice of drinking coffee itself and that in the 17th and 18th centuries when coffee houses first began to appear in Europe they quickly became the place for traders to negotiate and for new exciting ideas to flourish.
“For me, it is reassuring to see that hundreds of years later, Australia’s businesses are still using the coffee shop as a place of trade and work,” she explains.
“Here’s the rub: Australia boasts a huge number of new tech savvy start-ups and SMEs, companies looking to do things differently. Many are starting ‘in the cloud’ – and working from home and on the road – and basing themselves from their local cafés.
“But while buzzing coffee shop environments may seem appealing, there are many challenges that come with this type of café-based work that many people aren’t aware of, until they find out the hard way.”
Then Lehmann wheels out her silver bullet – her trusty “recently conducted national survey of over 600 Australian business people” and their working habits, to understand how they worked when out of the office.
The results identified some of the key obstacles that people face when trying to work from a coffee shop, she wrote.
“The top challenge, reported by 79 per cent of Australians, was concerns around the privacy of conversations and documents,” according to Lehmann.
“From overheard business calls to sensitive documents I think we can all associate with this headache! Other turnoffs include the security of belongings (77 per cent) and noisy customers (66 per cent).
“These hassles are just the start of what business owners need to be aware of. The research showed that older generations also deem the café as an unprofessional place to work – with 52 per cent of Baby Boomers reporting this and 45 per cent of Gen X professionals.”
She notes that for small businesses trying to gain traction and credibility with clients and prospective staff, this can be a real and serious issue.
Lehmann rattles off more statistics to underpin her argument that, essentially, workers are increasingly working across multiple locations and there is a trend towards a freelance clulture.
“In this new flexible work world, work happens everywhere – and as a small business owner there are a range of different options at your fingertips to support your workers,” she writes.
“Whether it be a pay-as-you go business centre, an independent co-working space, even a library, you can offer solid alternatives to the drone and hassle of the coffee shop office.”
In Europe, Lehmann adds, Regus is partnering with organisations like Shell and French national railway company SNCF to bring flexible co-working spaces to train and petrol stations.
“Something that it would not surprise me to see happening here in Australia within the next few years,” she writes.
“Don’t get me wrong, coffee shops will always have their role in the business of flexible working.
“But to really find the right brew for success, businesses need to move out of the café and into spaces that are more conducive to work.”
So there you have two arguments, one promoting the coffice concept, the other urging a different approach, more aligned with innovative offerings of flexible workspace.
Where does the truth lie? That’s for you to decide.
