Coworking spaces, an alternative for those allergic to teleworking?

No, all employees forced to telework from the beginning of the second hospitalization are not happy. Although the authorities’ goal in encouraging companies to leave their employees at home is to limit the circulation of the virus, some people have problems with the situation, whether it is from lack of space, comfort or boredom.

Claire Jimenez, executive of Carsat (Pension Fund and Occupational Health Insurance) Aquitaine, therefore has “great difficulty staying indoors” and has started looking for an office in a residential area. coworking close to home, even if only for one or two days a week. She is ready to pay out of her own pocket, however it is necessary that the price does not exceed “ten euros a day”, and that the site meets all health requirements for this period.

“Telework, I find it intellectually poor”

However, this Bordeaux woman lives in a house in the district of Caudéran. But “not having a decompression chamber between home and work makes me uncomfortable,” he explains. “And then there is also the fact of not seeing people: when you are at work, you trade, I am cut off from all this. In the end, even though we have more work due in particular to the consequent increase in emails to process, I find teleworking intellectually poor. “

Keeping bad memories of his first confinement, this time Patrick didn’t hesitate for long to take the plunge. International consultant resident all year round in Paris, he took over an office for a month in the premises of Startway, a coworking that opened since the beginning of the school year in Haillan, on the outskirts of Bordeaux. “My partner lives in Haillan,” he explains, “and I preferred to spend this second confinement near her rather than at home. She has a fairly spacious apartment, but she has two children who are sometimes there in the afternoons, it’s not a quiet enough environment to work. So I take his bike and come to work here. “

“About ten calls since the beginning of the imprisonment”

For a month at Startway it will cost Patrick 199 euros HT. “Prices start at 5 euros HT / hour, then 20 euros for half a day and 30 euros for the day, we also have coworking passes for the month, and for companies, prices depending on the offices and the number of workstations” We take it, “explains Séverine Perier, head of the Startway site in Haillan. Like ERT (Establishments that receive workers) and not ERP (Establishments that receive the public, as in the case of other coworking spaces), Startway can remain open during delivery.

The primary vocation of Startway remains above all that of continuing to welcome independent workers and companies that frequent the space the rest of the year. During the birth, the CeFap (Training Center for Perinatal Care) thus continues to deliver its courses there, for about fifteen people, which cannot be carried out remotely. “But at the same time I also received a dozen calls from people who live in the area and who are looking for a place to telework because they have to leave their homes” assures Séverine Perier. Even just a few hours a day. “Usually,” he continues, “these people don’t have good conditions to work from home. In fact, at home there is the problem of comfort, internet connection, or the presence of children at the end of the day. “

“Right now, people are very sensitive to having space, not to be on top of each other”

Nice offices, ergonomic seats, refrigerator, coffee machine and … social distancing is a must, the Startway site in Haillan offers, over 1,200 m2, two open spaces with 12-14 coworking stations, 35 private offices, four meeting rooms, and a room for catering or workshops. “Right now, people are obviously very sensitive to the fact that they have space, not to be one on top of the other, Séverine Perier insists, and we, for our part, pay particular attention to health measures. “And here, it slips,” we are not stressed by housework all day … “

The Startway company has 34 sites in France, most of them in partnership with La Poste. Alice Tortech, the company’s communications manager, stresses that Startway’s traditional business is far from deadlocked, and confirms that, even if it remains marginal, this request from employees occasionally looking for ‘observed throughout France, and in particular in the Paris region.

Rather than “big boxes buying credits for their employees”

“We have teleworkers who have bad memories of their first confinement and who don’t necessarily have office space at home,” continues Alice Tortech. And with us they also benefit from the video conference rooms. “He admits, however, that the employees who pay out of their own pockets do not make up the majority of the demand and that more often than not, it is” the big companies that buy loans for their employees. “

And for those who are badly installed at home but are afraid to leave the house, “we also have an offer, Startway at home: the rental of a desk and an ergonomic chair at home, at 25 euros per month”, he adds. Alice. Tortech. It is very popular at the moment. “