Now that we are 2025, the coworking movement stands at an exciting crossroads.
Coworking spaces in London, the UK, and beyond have become more than shared offices—they are hubs of connection, creativity, and community.
Drawing from conversations on the world-famous Coworking Values Podcast, here are 12 hopeful realities shaping coworking this year, backed by insights from the people who live and breathe this work daily.
Do you have a big hope for coworking in 2025?
▶️ The 12 points below are a thread in the Coworking Linkedin Group here – add your take.
😊12 Positive Realities to Inspire Us for Coworking in 2025
1. Breaking the Urban Monopoly
The coworking narrative has long been dominated by sleek, venture-backed urban spaces offering stunning rooftop views, beautiful minimalist interiors, and mediocre machine-made barista coffee.
These glossy temples of aspiration and Instagrammable productivity grab all the headlines, whether they are doing well or crashing.
Still, they’re coworking for the 1%: well-financed hubs designed to funnel money into the city rather than build anything meaningful for the communities they attempt to serve.
Meanwhile, the real heartbeat of coworking—independent spaces in small towns and suburbs—is quietly doing the heavy lifting: transforming communities, supporting freelancers, and delivering the kind of human connection no rooftop photo op can replicate.
As one coworking operator put it bluntly:
“We’re not here to compete with skyscrapers. We’re here to serve people who need a workplace.”
In 2025, the focus will shift from flashy, high-end coworking spaces to functional, community-oriented hubs.
By celebrating the everyday successes of small-town coworking spaces, we can highlight their essential role in supporting local economies and fostering a sense of belonging.
Join hundreds of coworking spaces that are part of their local economies on May 14th for European Coworking Day 2025.
2. Small-Town Coworking Communities
Coworking is no longer just an urban phenomenon.
And the London coworking industry is thriving in the suburbs like never before.
Inspired by ideas like Welcome to Wrexham, small-town coworking spaces revitalise local economies and create tight-knit communities.
In a tiny Welsh town, a coworking space transformed a disused pub into a thriving hub where the local bakery now delivers fresh pastries for morning meetings, and parents swap tips on balancing side hustles with school runs.
As Gareth I. Jones of Town Square shared:
“Coworking spaces in small towns aren’t just workspaces; they’re the heartbeat of the community.
In 2025, these spaces will continue to be anchors for creativity and opportunity, proving that thriving coworking isn’t about city lights but community roots.
3. Job-Making Over Job-Seeking
In the coworking world, the narrative has shifted from job-seeking to job-making.
Stephen Carrick-Davies from Facework Group summed it up well:
“We’re teaching people to ‘make’ jobs, not just apply. Coworking spaces can help members find confidence and create opportunities.”
This year, coworking spaces will increasingly support entrepreneurship, side hustles, and creative ventures, empowering people to shape their futures rather than wait for the perfect job.
Chauntelle Lewis from TownSq Islington emphasised:
“The idea is that we’re part of this affordable workspace scheme… Once in the space, they eventually develop their business to pay for the space, like their desk.
▶️ Or said another way – “be a creator, not a consumer.”
4. Coworking and Citizenship
Coworking is becoming a civic force, the hub of local involvement and connecting members with their neighbourhoods.
Jon Alexander’s book Citizens framed coworking spaces as places where people can become active citizens.
Jon shared:
“Coworking spaces can be places where people learn to become active citizens again.” The energy we find comes from “finding the others.”
We unlock collective power by seeing ourselves as citizens with agency and finding those who can act with us.
Unlike simple addition, collective power grows exponentially.
Highlighting this, “finding the others” is the best work coworking spaces can do—transforming themselves into accelerators of collective action and community-driven change.
In 2025, expect coworking spaces to strengthen local ties by hosting civic discussions, spearheading volunteer projects, and serving as hubs for community collaboration.
5. Family and Childcare
Coworking spaces have the potential to be lifesavers for parents and caregivers.
Szilvia Filep from Coworking Hungary shared:
“We need more flexible spaces that include childcare or support for parents. It’s about making life and work balance possible.”
SHAMENA NURSE-KINGSLEY, Founder of Cowo & Crèche, emphasised the emotional and practical impact of coworking with childcare:
“Coworking with childcare lets me have work time but also go down the hall to have lunch with my kids or check in on them.”
For many, this model is about more than convenience—it’s about reclaiming work-life balance.
As one parent shared:
“I wanted my home to be my home again… a place where I could focus on family without the distractions of work.”
In 2025, expect coworking spaces to evolve with family-friendly solutions—from onsite childcare to parent-focused programming—helping caregivers thrive professionally and personally while creating a supportive community.
6. Email Marketing and Member Connection
Email marketing remains one of the simplest yet most effective tools for coworking operators to connect with members and build revenue.
Yet many small coworking spaces overlook it.
Mark Masters, creator of the You Are The Media creator community, shared on the podcast:
“The newsletter has been the pulse of everything we do since 2013.
Emails don’t have an algorithm.
You don’t have to game the internet—write and send something.
The return on investment for email marketing is significantly higher than social media, making it an invaluable tool for coworking spaces to build lasting connections.
In 2025, coworking spaces that master email marketing will cultivate loyal communities, using it to keep members informed, engaged, and inspired.
7. AI Gap: Know It or Lose It
Everyone’s talking about AI, but few coworking operators use it daily.
The podcast highlights the stark gap: spaces integrating AI into their daily tasks will thrive, while the rest risk falling behind.
“AI isn’t going to take your job—someone who knows how to use AI will.”
I first learned about AI’s potential from Kofi Oppong at Urban MBA, even before ChatGPT hit the scene.
In November 2022, I watched Urban MBA graduates move faster than Ivy League MBAs on amphetamines, thanks to their early mastery of AI skills.
Picture this: a coworking operator staring blankly at Canva AI, unsure if it’s magic or mischief.
At the same time, their competitor whips up a newsletter in record time using the same tool.
In 2025, practical AI tools—like Canva for design or Mailchimp’s AI-driven email personalisation—will remain untouched on most people’s desktops.
Everyone talks about AI, but it’s like teenagers and sex—the loudest talkers often know the least.
The spaces that take the time to learn and apply these tools will close the gap and win, while the rest keep fantasising about “real-time data-driven analytics” they’ll never understand.
The secret?
Learn to use these tools daily.
Always ask ChatGTP, Claude or Gemini before you do something.
Let the robots help you save time, money, and effort—so you can focus on what truly matters: people.
🤖With Ai – No one’s coming to save you – get your shit together.
8. Rural Coworking Renaissance
Rural coworking is having its moment.
Again.
Julianne Becker of COCONAT – a workation retreat, shared her experience:
“In rural spaces, coworking isn’t just about work. It’s about creating a meeting point for the community.”
Miguel Lucea Jimeno from Co-living Sojuela Joven highlighted how coworking spaces can transform small villages:
“In a village with around 40 year-round inhabitants, hosting 7–8 new international digital nomads increased the real population by over 20%.”
These spaces breathe new life into rural areas, sparking cultural enrichment and building meaningful connections between locals and newcomers.
Jenny Lowthrop from Coworking Corner Derbyshire added:
“We’re right on the edge of the Peak District National Park, and visitors often alternate days at our space while one looks after the kids. They become part of the community even if they only visit once or twice a year.”
Moreover, rural coworking is about more than just numbers.
Miguel added:
“We don’t want people to move to villages just because it’s cheaper, but to reflect on what really matters—closeness to nature, bonds with neighbours, and a healthy lifestyle,”
Jenny also emphasised:
“The headspace you get in a rural setting is unbelievable. It’s more valuable than getting to a shopping centre in six minutes.”
These spaces offer a lifestyle alternative that prioritises wellbeing and community while providing modern, tech-enabled work environments.
In 2025, rural coworking spaces will continue to act as cultural hubs, support centres, and incubators for local creativity—helping isolated areas become vibrant hubs of connection and opportunity.
➡️ Follow the European Rural Coworking Project on LinkedIn and connect with Maria do Ceu Bastos and Jeannine van der Linden 👍
9. Addressing the UK Cost-of-Living Crisis
The UK’s cost-of-living crisis is hitting individuals and small businesses hard, with rising costs for food, energy, and housing creating significant financial pressure.
The cost-of-living crisis is also ripping through mainland Europe, hitting every corner of society.
Families are struggling to put food on the table, energy bills are eating up paychecks, and small businesses are teetering on the edge as rising costs crush their margins.
From Athens to Berlin, freelancers, creators and business owners are forced to make impossible choices—cutting staff, reducing hours, or shutting down altogether—while communities lose vital services and support.
This isn’t just a financial squeeze; it’s a deepening fracture reshaping how people live, work, and survive.
Jaskiran Mangat from FinanceTherapy highlighted how these challenges compound for founders and freelancers:
“What we thought would get us six months of the runway has become four months, which is tough when that timer is ticking down.”
Coworking spaces can step in as community anchors, offering affordable solutions and creating collaboration to navigate these pressures.
From hosting finance therapy circles to providing flexible memberships that adapt to changing budgets, coworking spaces have the potential to provide relief and resilience.
In 2025, expect coworking spaces to address the cost-of-living crisis through tangible initiatives—affordable workspaces, shared resources, and community-led efforts to help members adapt and thrive despite economic challenges.
10. The Hospitality Connection
Hospitality isn’t just about service—it’s about creating spaces where people feel they belong.
My epic StoryBrand Guide mates Sonya Whittam, and Julie Firth from Story22 teach coworking operators the principles of Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara.
Julie says:
“People don’t just want a desk; they want to feel cared for!”
While at catering college in London and later at university, I worked at Pizza Hut, the Mayfair Intercontinental Hotel, Cafe de Paris, and Break For The Border nightclubs.
Like coworking, I know how hospitality spans economic brackets.
It’s not about luxury—it’s about making someone feel seen, valued, and at ease, no matter the setting.
Ian Minor from Brave Corporation Ltd. frames it as:
“It’s not about being a waiter or a servant; it’s about the art of being hospitable.”
Speaking at the Will Guidara’s The Welcome Conference, author David Brooks emphasised that hospitality is about seeing and being the seer: creating spaces where members feel acknowledged and empowered to recognise others.
Imagine a coworking space where members feel deeply connected—the lighting is warm, the coffee is fresh, and the atmosphere says, “You matter here.”
These small, intentional touches create an environment of trust and belonging.
In 2025, coworking spaces that embrace hospitality’s lessons—from anticipating members’ needs to creating inclusive, welcoming environments—will set themselves apart.
11. Events as the Heartbeat of Community
From skill-sharing sessions to community dinners, events are the heartbeat of coworking spaces.
As our inclusive coworker friend Lucy McInally explained:
“Events aren’t just a nice thing to have. They’re how we connect people and build bonds.”
Panels of all-white men and “sages on stages” are a thing of the past.
Today, people come for inclusive, connected events that reflect their diverse communities and inspire genuine collaboration.
Pro panel tip for 2025: A ‘man-el’ occurs when everyone on the panel is a (usually white) male—please don’t let that happen to you.
Chauntelle Lewis from TownSq Islington Islington added:
“We’re trying to create an environment where people aren’t just coming to events—connecting over a meal, finding ways to collaborate, and leaving with something tangible. Events are more than programming; they build trust, relationships, and a sense of belonging.”
In 2025, coworking spaces will expand their use of event programming, using it as a tool to create connections and inspire collaboration.
People come to events for connection, meaning, and change, not for something that could have been a podcast or a YouTube video.
- Stay tuned for European Coworking Day 2025 – there will be a lot of event learning and collaboration here!
- Unreasonable Connection: A one-hour online event to meet other London Coworking Community Builders, share ideas, and spark real connections—no fluff, just conversation. ➡️ RSVP here
12. Embracing Inclusion, Diversity, Accessibility, and Equity (IDEA)
In 2025, small-town, owner-managed coworking spaces have an incredible opportunity to lead on inclusion, diversity, accessibility, and equity (IDEA).
As Dom Hyams emphasised on the podcast, the “Purple Pound,” representing the spending power of disabled individuals, is worth £274 billion annually to the UK economy.
Dom remarked:
“When coworking spaces prioritise accessibility, they tap into not just a market opportunity but a moral imperative.”
Creating accessible and inclusive spaces isn’t just about compliance; it’s about expanding membership, reflecting community values, and building collaboration.
Agencies like Purple Goat Agency have shown the power of authentic inclusivity in marketing; a lesson coworking spaces can adopt to create environments where everyone feels valued and empowered.
- We’ll discuss this further in February with Urban MBA and 360 Workplace at the Workspace Design Show London in Islington.
Action Steps
Coworking in 2025 isn’t about chasing trends or following the mainstream.
It’s about creating meaningful, local connections that ripple outward to shape the future of work.
Ask yourself:
- Are you building a space that serves your community, or are you chasing the noise of bigger, shinier coworking spaces?
- Are you focusing your energy on the people around you who can transform your neighbourhood and city?
And The real work happens where you are.
The real change comes from educating your local area about coworking’s meaning—connection, collaboration, and citizenship.
By focusing on your community, you’re building the future one relationship at a time.
Here’s where you can start:
- Listen to the Coworking Values Podcast – Real stories, real people, real coworking.
- London Coworking Assembly is a network of community builders reshaping coworking. Join the email newsletter to get invited to events.
- Become part of the LinkedIn Coworking Group – a worldwide conversation with local impact.
It’s time to stop looking outward for validation and start creating meaningful change where it counts—right where you are.