A traditional workplace would usually have small cubicles, plain office desks, conference rooms as well as a pantry. Though functional, it is often perceived as soul-draining, stale boxes that corporations use to house their operations.

As pessimistic as it sounds, this negative connotation towards desks and cubicles have been around for as long as society can remember. Even movies and TV shows depicted the bad reputations of offices and have made fun of how it seems to be void of inspiration whatsoever. However, despite all that, enterprises and in certain cases, even startups, opt for these dull boxes.

That is, until the industry felt the change brought to us by the upsurge of Millennials in today’s workforce.

With a generation that values purpose in their work, it comes as no surprise that these young professionals are searching for workplaces that foster creativity. Moreover, these types of offices bring so much more to the table other than attracting the best in today’s diverse talent pool.

Creativity comes with a price, it takes risk and courage to face the unknown. And traditional office life provides no room for trying new things and failure. What most corporations doesn’t understand is that it allows for more meaningful results. Moreover, creativity is not just pretty presentations. Instead, it’s all about out-of-the box concepts and coming up with unique ways to solve problems.

Creative thinking and the courage to be daring shells out new ideas. These “thinkers” are valued in the workplace for their ability to create great results in mundane circumstances. Innovative problem solving comes into play when individuals are able to see all sides of an issue – coming up with solutions that are outright new and interesting, this surely takes the company to a whole new direction instead of going through the same beaten path.

According to experts, disengaged employees cost organizations $450 to $550 billion, annually. Uninspired employees have the tendency to feel sluggish with their work and would often rely on the same concepts and solutions. And in order to avoid your team from going static, it’s important to implement changes that will cultivate creativity within the walls of your office. Not just by adding Ping Pong tables or nap rooms, but by actually embedding a culture that keeps individuals engaged and that provides importance and respect to other people’s ideas and thoughts.

Encourage individualism and teamwork. Allow your team to bring their whole self to work and give them the ability to inspire diversity and non-conformity. In addition to this, give positive feedback rather than negative ones. Rewarding them for being brave enough to take risks can motivate them to come up with unique ways to improve your services and even your workplace.

Fostering creativity at work can also be attained by actually moving into an office space that strongly encourages it. Startups and even large corporations can give Coworking a try. These well-known shared spaces take pride in the creative flow it allows within its vicinity. Moreover, with such a diverse community, self-expression is highly encouraged.

Being creative means taking risks and remaining fearless in the face of failure. Though it is often frowned upon, it invites and demands innovation.

Face your fears, see success in failure and join the community of the brave.

There’s an estimated 300 million people trying to start about 150 million businesses and about one third of them will be launched – resulting to about 50 million new firm births per year.

In the recent years, the economy witnessed an upsurge on startup companies. According to the 2015 Kauffman Foundation Index on Startup Activity, the number of startups ascended during the year 2014 after going through a downward cycle from the year 2010. In addition to this, the rebound startups represent strength in the economy and could generate hope for further economic growth.

From the same report of Kauffman Foundation Index, 84% of new entrepreneurs started their companies because of opportunities they spotted while up to 10% of it was because they couldn’t find employment – more so because they found a necessity.

Recent surveys have found that last year have been a kind year for diversity. Rising from 220 per 100,000 to 260, the number of women who opened startups reach its highest rate in almost 20 years. The minorities and immigrants gained as well.

As for sales, small companies have experienced a 7 percent boost in their revenue within the year 2015 with an overall of 45% increase over the past six years according to the financial analysis firm Sageworks.

Accompanying the upsurge of startups is a demand for workspaces that would fit the needs of a budding company. With limited time and resources, startups need all the help that they can get.

There are angel investors, companies who act as patrons that invest in startup companies for the exchange of equity ownership. Startup Accelerators providing education, mentorship and financing as support to them. Incubators on the other hand provide workspaces, funding, mentoring and training. As well as Business Process Outsourcing companies or BPOs that provide resources and manpower.

Another kind of firm that helps them thrive are flexible workspaces.

The demand for affordable yet competitive office space for small businesses and enterprises created a market for a flexible system that would benefit all industries. Providers of seat leasing services, private offices, and virtual office plans relieve them of the financial burden that comes with traditional office spaces.

One of the most established office solutions in the industry, Seat Leasing provides its clients with premier office space and more flexible terms. A startup can easily bootstrap its first office with sites ready for plug and play.

Inclusive of the latest equipment and facilities needed for operations to run smoothly, seat leasing have become one of the go-to options of young entrepreneurs in choosing their company’s first ever office. Moreover, it saves money and time, both of which are detrimental to the success of a company building its name.

The latest addition to the different kinds of flexible workspaces, Coworking Spaces’ rise to fame can be traced to the numerous benefits it gives not only to the business itself but as well as the positive impact it has on employees.

Creating a platform for innovation and collaboration, Coworking Spaces is a shared workplace that caters to this generation’s freelancers, startup teams and young professionals. It offers private and shared desks as well as business lounges — giving its members the freedom to choose the office environment that they need.

Several studies and surveys have confirmed the claims of an increase in productivity and overall happiness reported by coworkers. In addition to this, the community fostered within these communal areas and the opportunity of expanding network is what attracts startups to opt for the membership based office space. In addition to this, members get more control in their working hours – allowing them to have a better work and life balance.

Today’s technology gave our workforce more opportunities to do what they love. Accompanied by the tried-and-tested helping hands of the industry as well as the new ones, startups can face the coming economic challenges with confidence.

The increase of startups have inspired people to rid themselves of the job they had to get in order to survive and create a job that they actually want. Though it’s never rosy, we’re here to help.

As kids, we were told that the secret to success is hard work. Though true, what the grown-ups meant by hard work is grinding through long hours and late nights. Powering through fatigue, thinking that all of this labor will be worth it – it’s effective, tycoons from the past can attest to it.

But behind the success stories of businessmen working their way up towards success, is the ugly truth – the drawback laborers of the early years dismissed; burnout.

Employee burnout is not much of a selcouth occurrence in the industry. It’s nothing new to most companies yet in the recent years, it posed as a big threat to the labor force worldwide.

Records of profit and growth in companies, projected economy growth of almost 50% and unemployment rate decreasing – all mask the truth that more and more individuals are working harder than before for a minimum wage.

A recent study conducted by Kronos Incorporated and Future Workplace, said that 95 percent of human resource leaders reported their workforces being sabotaged by employee burnout. To make things worse, the said number came from more than 600 Chief Human Resource Officers and HR managers from organizations of all sizes.

In addition to this, the psychological and physical issues burnout brings costs an estimated $125 billion to $190 billion a year of healthcare spending.

What caused the sudden spread of burnout are pretty obvious. Productivity of employees skyrocketed between 2000 and 2014 yet wages and benefits remained the same. According to the Economic Policy Institute, productivity increased by 21.6 percent, but wages only grew by 1.8 percent during the said time period.

The unfair compensation is also paired with unreasonable workload to boast. More priorities are given and executives expect their employees to multitask with their phones and laptops. The most capable ones in the workforce are the usual victims of overloaded workload.

Organizational control also has a fair share of fault with the increase experts have observed. Human Resource Leaders from the study of Kronos Incorporated and Future Workplace have said that poor management, the employee’s inability to see a clear connection between their individual role and corporate strategy as well as negative workplace culture fuels burnouts.

The aforementioned ailments accompanied by outside factors like long commutes and stress in daily life contribute to the overall chances of an individual to be burnt out.

Hard work is and remains to be a critical part in achieving success but sometimes you’re exerting so much effort yet it does so little – damaging what’s left of your mental being.

Giving yourself a proper break – one where you don’t constantly check your phone for emails and whatnot – is important.  Overworking your brain is actually futile to your productivity. A 2011 study said that our brains take in about 174 newspapers’ worth of information in a normal day. It’s no surprise that our brains get overwhelmed since its capacity to process is only limited.

Science suggests that taming multitasking is therapeutic. It gives the brain the chance to breathe and restore itself after working so hard. Several studies have said that taking naps (even 10 minutes naps) improve cognitive function, vigor and even decreases fatigues.

The world expects a lot from an adult; build careers and futures without forgetting about personal relationships and happiness. They hoped for a balance between those four things yet made it so hard to achieve. It gets paralyzing at one point and we find ourselves hoping and praying for a few minutes for ourselves.

Luckily, some of us got sick of the work culture the older generation left us with and created an innovation that creates the balance all of us have been looking for.

Offering freedom to isolate and collaborate, “Coworking Spaces” is a kind of flexible workspace that prioritizes productivity and creative freedom. Open for freelancers, professionals and entrepreneurs of all industries, coworking spaces offers business lounges, private desks, meeting rooms and conference rooms. It allows its members to choose between working alone or collaborating with other members – giving them more control on their productivity

Grown-ups always told us that adulthood is easy but not one of them said it would be this hard and arduous. From one adult to another, we’re here to help you extinguish the ember that can kickoff burnout.

In the recent years, the industry have seen numerous changes in the work culture. Labor force slowly getting dominated by the Millennials, traditional 9-to-5 shift slowly diminishing and even office spaces themselves are changing. Economic developments and other social change caused businesses to adapt to new demands and challenges arising. This, then of course, opened new opportunities and market

Since the rise of flexible working we’ve seen the numbers of freelancers increase. Communities of Digital Nomads – freelancers who literally bring their work with them as they travel the world – have formed and continues to have steady growth. Some experts even say that they are no longer just a passing trend.

Though it first started sporadically, there’s a concrete justification why more and more members of the workforce are turning away from the traditional work culture.

Location Independence is the term often used to define the freedom and mobility the lifestyle gives. Selcouth as it sounds, “Location Independence” allows you to have the freedom to live life on your own terms and the ability to work wherever you want to.

It implies not being tied to a single geographic location for certain reasons, meaning that a person’s job would not require them to be physically present in the office and allows individuals to travel whenever, wherever they want and for how long they want. Location Independence empowers them to control their life with their own hands. It allows them to take full responsibility of their own future and ultimate happiness. Though the path it leads can differ from one person or another, it offers everyone the same thing; freedom. The freedom to pursue what your heart desires and the freedom to create the life you’ve been dreaming of.

Remote working have been existing for a while now but only in the recent years did the industry consider this arrangement. With a rising demand on a better work-life balance, employers and employees took a few step backs and studied how mobility can improve today’s work culture.

Last year, 53% of India’s workforce have said that they prefer working from home. In the same year, 38% of workers from the United States say that they work from home at least once a week. Surveys say that remote work increases worker productivity and employee efficiency. Other studies have also mentioned several advantages of remote working; lowers stress and boosts morale, reduces employee turnover and often leads to greater employee engagement. In a recent report by World Economic Forum, work flexibility is tagged as one of the biggest drivers of transformation in the workplace which caused several companies to report significant decrease in real estate costs.

The decrease of operation costs can be traced to the emergence of numerous flexible workspaces, one of them being; coworking spaces. This emerging trend involves a shared working environment. Unlike typical offices, members of coworking spaces come from different organizations and industries.

Coworking Spaces provides its members with reliable internet, work environment, coworkers to interact with and other local benefits. Numerous workspaces can now be found around the world making it easier for location independent workers to travel without worrying about strong internet connections, desks and other office services.

Being location independent sounds like a dream come true but it takes more than just packing your bags and your laptop with you. People might sugarcoat it with aesthetically pleasing photos in Instagram but the truth is, location independence is hard work. Living in a foreign country sure is fun but it can be hard, just imagine simultaneously working and travelling from one country to another. Yet it allows you to access more life lessons than your office desk can ever offer.

Sounds like the life you’ve always wanted? Let us know if you want to give location independence a try and we might just save you a seat in the office.