The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Coworking Spaces in Poland

Abstract

The chapter deals with the changes occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic in the coworking sector. We have collected data and information from primary and secondary sources. The latter include in-depth interviews, covert participant observations and computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). We analysed the changes of the number of coworking spaces (CSs) and main mechanisms behind them. The findings reveal the relatively limited scale of decrease in the number of coworking spaces and illustrate how the pandemic outbreak influenced the effects of CS operations, especially on the real estate market. It is argued that independently-run CSs suffered the most, whereas corporate CSs with a stable core of corporate clients, central location and limited competition have been more resilient. With regard to the changes generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the most significant transformations are seen in the decreasing number of non-virtual events organised by CSs, whereas the scale of the other impacts of CSs on the local milieu decreased slightly.