An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is an earlier usage, as "office" originally referred to the location of one's duty. In its adjective form, the term "office" may refer to business-related tasks. In law, a company or organization has offices in any place where it has an official presence, even if that presence consists of a storage silo, for example, instead of a more traditional establishment with a desk and chair. An office is also an architectural and design phenomenon, including small offices, such as a bench in the corner of a small business or a room in someone's home, entire floors of buildings, and massive buildings dedicated entirely to one company. In modern terms, an office is usually the location where white-collar workers carry out their functions.
A virtual office is part of the flexible workspace industry that provides businesses with any combination of services, space and/or technology, without those businesses bearing the capital expenses of owning or leasing a traditional office.
Hot desking is a work office organization system where each space is available for any worker, rather than reserved for a specific worker, so different workers may use the same spot along the day or week. The "desk" in the name refers to a table or other work space being shared by multiple workers on different shifts as opposed to every staff member having their own personal desk. A primary motivation for hot-desking is cost reduction through space savings—up to 30% in some cases. Hot desking is especially valuable in cities where real estate prices are high.
A work at home parent is someone who conducts remote work from home and integrates parenting into his or her working time and workspace. They are sometimes referred to as a WAHM or a WAHD.
A virtual workplace is a work environment where employees can perform their duties remotely, using technology such as laptops, smartphones, and video conferencing tools. A virtual workplace is not located in any one physical space. It is usually a network of several workplaces technologically connected without regard to geographic boundaries. Employees are thus able to interact in a collaborative working environment regardless of where they are located. A virtual workplace integrates hardware, people, and online processes.
Office sharing is a concept that allows companies that own or manage an office that has redundant office space to share or rent the workstations or self-contained units to smaller companies looking for Flexible Workspace. This creates revenue for the company that runs the office, and provides a cheap, flexible alternative for companies looking for an office outside of their home. The main benefit of sharing an office is that it provides a more dynamic environment for both companies involved and access to new markets.
IWG plc, formerly Regus, is a British holding company. It provides serviced offices under several brand-names, including Regus. It was started in Brussels, Belgium, by Mark Dixon in 1989. It is registered in Saint Helier, Jersey, and has its head office in Zug, Switzerland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Coworking is an arrangement in which workers for different companies share an office space. It allows cost savings and convenience through the use of common infrastructures, such as equipment, utilities and receptionist and custodial services, and in some cases refreshments and parcel acceptance services. It is attractive to independent contractors, independent scientists, remote workers, digital nomads, and people who travel frequently. Additionally, coworking helps workers avoid the feeling of social isolation they may experience while remote working or traveling and eliminate distractions in home office. Most coworking spaces charge membership dues. Major companies that provide coworking space and serviced offices include WeWork, IWG plc, Industrious, and Impact Hub.
Servcorp Limited is a multinational organisation that sells Serviced Offices, Virtual Offices, Coworking Spaces, Meeting Rooms, Community Packages, and IT Services to entrepreneurs, startups, SME's and large enterprises.
eOffice is a British company that provides shared workspaces and services for entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups, SMEs and scaleups. Operating from a number of centres in Central London, and affiliated with 250 business centres worldwide, the company has a presence in 60 countries. eOffice offers fully furnished serviced offices, coworking space, meeting and video conferencing rooms, and virtual offices.
An executive suite in its most general definition is a collection of offices or rooms—or suite—used by top managers of a business—or executives. Over the years, this general term has taken on a variety of specific meanings.
Bruntwood is a family-owned property company offering office space, serviced offices, retail space and virtual offices in the north of England and Birmingham in the United Kingdom. They own several high-profile buildings in the Manchester area, as well as in Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham.
The Network Hub is a coworking space launched in the summer of 2006 in East Vancouver, British Columbia, and is considered the longest running coworking space in Vancouver.
MakeOffices is an American coworking and real estate service company. The company currently operates in three cities: Chicago, Philadelphia, and the Washington, D.C. Metro areas.
Expansive, formerly Novel Coworking, is an American co-working and office rental company. Its main clientele are small businesses, such as entrepreneurs and satellite office teams, needing flexible office space.
Premier Office Centers LLC dba Premier Workspaces is a privately held executive suite and office rental company. The company, which was founded in 2002, is doing business Premier Workspaces, one of the largest providers of private offices, meeting rooms rentals, virtual office rental and coworking spaces in the United States. Premier Office Centers is headquartered in Irvine, California and operates with locations in Arizona, Colorado, Washington D.C., Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas.
Founded in 1994 by Rick Sondik, Rockefeller Group Business Centers is a New York corporation that provides short-term workplaces. Currently, they operate a business center In Rockefeller Center's International Building. Their client base is about 500 including office and virtual office space members. Rockefeller Group Business Center's primary client base is the Finance Industry, Lawyers, and Entrepreneurs.
JustCo is a Singaporean company that provides coworking workspaces for individuals and companies. Headquartered in Singapore, JustCo was founded in 2011 by Kong Wan Sing, its current CEO, alongside co-founders Liu Lu and Kong Wan Long, as a response to increasing demand for flexible workspaces. Initially focused on Singapore, the company expanded to provide office space in cities across eight countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, China, South Korea and Taiwan.
Coworker is an online marketplace and access solution for discovering and booking coworking spaces and flexible offices around the world. It was founded in 2015 by Leanne Beesley and current president Sam Marks. The company has offices in the United States, Canada, Spain, and Thailand, with its registration in the United States. By 2021, the company recorded 18,500 coworking spaces in 172 countries in its network.
Industrious, headquartered in New York City, provides coworking spaces to companies and individuals. It was founded in 2012 and operates in more than 200 locations and 65 cities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.