Coworking Statistics: How Companies and Employees Use Shared Workspaces

You leave the house because you need a quiet place to work. An hour later, you’re in a shared workspace, wearing headphones while someone nearby explains their quarterly targets on a video call.

Then, over coffee, a conversation with another member helps you solve something you’ve been stuck on all week.

Both experiences can happen in the same place. That’s what makes coworking interesting – and why a growing market doesn’t tell the whole story about whether it works for people.

Companies use flexible workspaces for remote employees, small teams, business travel, and expansion into new locations. Employees may use them to escape an unsuitable home setup, meet colleagues, or give the working day a clearer beginning and end.

But how popular is coworking in 2026? What do employers think about it? And what does research tell us about productivity and well-being?

Here’s what the latest market reports and academic studies can – and can’t – answer.

Coworking statistics at a glance

• 9,384 coworking locations were recorded in the U.S. in Q2 2026, up 2.7% from the previous quarter.
• 166.36 million square feet of U.S. coworking space was recorded in the same report, an increase of 1.5% quarter over quarter. 
• 4,698 flexible workspaces were recorded across the UK and Ireland in Q2 2026. 
• The U.S. accounted for 38.7% of flexible-workspace bookings in the dataset reported by Cushman & Wakefield in its 2026 report.
• India’s share of bookings in that dataset rose from 2.2% to 10.2% year over year.
• Only 16% of surveyed corporate occupiers lacked a flexible-space strategy, down from 24% in 2025.
• Just 3% of large enterprises used flexible space for more than 10% of their portfolios, according to JLL’s April 2026 analysis.
• Respondents spent 26% of their workweek outside both home and the office in Gensler’s 2026 survey. This includes coworking, client sites, business travel, and other locations – not coworking alone.
• A 2024 review of 11 studies mapped 23 positive and 11 negative relationships between coworking conditions and worker outcomes. These are findings across studies, not counts of successful and unsuccessful workplaces.
• An experience-sampling study involving 56 participants and 1,340 work observations found better reported well-being, engagement, and productivity in coworking spaces than at home. Its small, non-randomized sample limits how broadly the results apply.

These figures answer different questions. Location counts describe supply, booking shares describe recorded activity, and employee studies explore working experiences. None alone tells us whether a coworking membership will be right for a particular team.

What is coworking?

Coworking is an arrangement in which people from different companies or professional backgrounds use a shared workspace. Members might book a desk occasionally, rent a dedicated workstation, use meeting rooms, or work from a private office within a shared facility.

It helps to separate three related terms:

• Remote work: working away from a central company office.
• Hybrid work: combining remote and on-site work.
• Coworking: using a shared workspace, occasionally or regularly.

A hybrid employee might spend some days at home, meet colleagues at headquarters, and use a coworking space nearby when they need suitable facilities.

“Flexible office” is the broader industry term. It includes shared coworking environments as well as private and managed offices offered under adaptable arrangements.

Is coworking still growing in 2026?

Recent data show continued growth in tracked U.S. coworking supply and greater corporate interest in flexible space. Adoption remains uneven.

CoworkingCafe’s Q2 2026 U.S. report recorded increases in both locations and floor space. Location counts grew faster, meaning the average recorded space became slightly smaller.

Employers are also making room for flexibility in their plans. CBRE’s finding that fewer respondents lacked a flex strategy suggests it is becoming a more familiar option in corporate real estate decisions.

Yet JLL found that 42% of organizations allocated 1% or less of their headcount to flexible-space solutions. Having a strategy doesn’t necessarily mean using coworking for a large share of the workforce.

These reports use different samples and measures, so their percentages shouldn’t be compared directly. Together, they show how flexible space can become part of business planning while remaining a relatively small part of daily operations.

Where are coworking markets most active?

There isn’t a single ranking that captures coworking use everywhere. Available reports measure locations, floor space, bookings, or the development of flexible-office markets.

Still, they offer a useful picture of activity across countries.

United States: a large market with continued expansion

The U.S. led the booking dataset in Cushman & Wakefield’s 2026 report. This measures activity within the reported dataset, rather than the share of Americans who use coworking.

CoworkingCafe’s U.S. inventory also shows that the market extends beyond a few major business districts. For employers, the useful question is local: can employees find an appropriate space close to where they live or need to work?

India: a growing share of reported bookings

India’s booking share increased sharply in Cushman & Wakefield’s report. The firm also ranked India first in its flexible-office market-maturity assessment, with Singapore, the Philippines, the UK, France, and the U.S. among the other strong markets.

A maturity ranking describes the development of a market. It doesn’t measure the percentage of a country’s employees who cowork.

United Kingdom and Ireland: established networks

CoworkingCafe’s Q2 2026 report recorded 4,415 flexible-workspace locations in the UK and 283 in Ireland.

Greater London accounted for 1,275 locations, while Dublin had 129. These figures cover a range of flexible-workspace products, including shared desks and private offices.

For a business, a country’s ranking matters less than whether the right facilities are available in the right place. A suitable workspace near a small regional team may be more valuable than an impressive office in a city nobody needs to visit.

Why do companies choose coworking?

Companies generally look at coworking as a way to solve a specific space problem: supporting employees away from headquarters, accommodating a changing team, or getting started in a new location.

CBRE identifies uncertain demand, new-market entry, and preserving capital as reasons for incorporating flexible space. JLL also emphasizes access to ready-to-use facilities and the ability to adapt capacity.

That can take several forms:

The attraction is understandable. A business can access facilities without arranging every detail of an office itself.

The financial case still needs checking. Memberships, extra meeting-room charges, travel, and unused capacity all affect the total cost. Flexibility is valuable when the company actually needs it and employees can use what they’re paying for.

Does coworking improve productivity and well-being?

Research suggests potential benefits, but it doesn’t establish that coworking improves performance for everyone. The space, the person, and the task all matter.

The 2024 La Trobe University scoping review examined workers’ performance, mental health, and physical health. It identified more positive than negative relationships overall, while highlighting physical design and psychosocial conditions as areas requiring attention.

Its findings support taking coworking seriously as an option. They don’t provide a universal productivity increase or a guarantee of better mental health. 

The experience-sampling study published online in 2025 and in a 2026 issue of Ergonomics adds a useful detail. Within coworking spaces, face-to-face collaboration was associated with better well-being and engagement, but no statistically significant productivity improvement. Having other people in the room did not improve well-being.

In practice, a space may work well for a planning session and poorly for an afternoon of detailed analysis. Assess both experiences before deciding whether the arrangement is successful.

The psychology of coworking: connection, choice, and attention

The same workspace can feel welcoming one day and draining the next. Looking at what people need from it helps explain why.

Belonging: familiar faces can become meaningful connections

For someone who works alone, a familiar greeting or an easy conversation can be a welcome part of the day. But social contact becomes more useful when people feel comfortable asking for help, exchanging ideas, or joining in.

A 2025 qualitative study followed 15 public employees over a year as they combined headquarters, home, and rural coworking. Suitable spaces offered interaction and community connection. Where facilities were inadequate or few other people attended, participants preferred working at home. 

It’s a small study, but it raises a good question for employers: does the space give employees the kind of connection they want?

Autonomy: choice needs to be practical

A coworking membership gives employees another place to work. The choice becomes more useful when they can select a setting that fits the task.

For example, someone might use a shared area for an informal discussion, then move to a quiet room to finish a report. If suitable rooms are always occupied, the choice exists mainly on paper.

Research based on 28 interviews with coworking managers and users in Quebec identified flexibility, concentration, atmosphere, and connection as relevant to perceived health and well-being.

Attention and boundaries: people need room to switch off, too

A separate workplace may help someone mark the start and end of the working day. For another person, travel and interruptions may leave them catching up at home in the evening.

A 2024 study of micro-entrepreneurs linked coworking with benefits involving well-being and work–life balance, including boundary management and community support. Its findings concern that particular working population, rather than all employees.

Ask about the whole day: Did the space help employees finish their work? Could they concentrate? Did they leave at a reasonable time?

Those answers give a fuller picture than whether the office felt lively.

What are the main drawbacks of coworking?

The practical difficulties are worth checking during a trial:

• Noise and interruptions. Calls and nearby conversations may disrupt focused work.
• Limited privacy. Shared desks may be unsuitable for sensitive discussions or confidential information.
• Unreliable availability. A membership is less useful when the rooms employees need are consistently booked.
• Costs that don’t match usage. Regular fees can be poor value for occasional attendance.
• Different preferences. A social environment can energize one employee and exhaust another.

These are reasons to match the arrangement to the work. A private office, occasional room booking, or day pass may solve a problem that an unrestricted shared-desk membership doesn’t.

What should a company consider before adopting coworking?

Start with the people and the work, then choose the space.

1. Who needs it? Identify the employees likely to use it and how often.
2. What will they do there? Calls, focused work, workshops, and confidential meetings need different facilities.
3. What will it cost in practice? Include additional bookings, travel, and unused capacity.
4. Can people work appropriately there? Check access, privacy, connectivity, and relevant company requirements.
5. How will you know it helps? Review employee experience, actual use, costs, and work outcomes.

Try a small arrangement first. Employees can test the commute, the atmosphere, and the facilities before the business makes a wider commitment.

Ask for feedback while there’s still time to change things

A short check-in during the trial is more useful than waiting until the next renewal.

Ask:

• Could you find an appropriate place for your main tasks?
• Did the space help you connect with the people you needed?
• What interrupted your work?
• Was anything harder here than at home or headquarters?
• What should we change before next month?

Then explain what you’ll do with the answers. That might mean changing booking rules, switching locations, or choosing a different membership.

If the problem is unclear priorities or missing project information, address the working process as well. A new location can support collaboration, but colleagues still need to know what was decided, who owns the next step, and where to find updates.

Frequently asked questions

Is coworking popular in 2026?

Yes. Recent reports show growth in tracked U.S. coworking supply and continued corporate interest in flexible space. This doesn’t tell us what percentage of all employees use coworking regularly.

Which country uses coworking the most?

There is no single measure of national coworking use. The U.S. led the booking dataset in Cushman & Wakefield’s 2026 report, while India ranked first in its flexible-office market-maturity assessment. Neither measure represents the percentage of employees who cowork.

Is coworking better than working from home?

It depends on the person and the work. Coworking may offer useful facilities, social contact, and a separate working environment. Home may offer greater quiet, convenience, or privacy.

Does coworking increase productivity?

Some studies report positive associations, but there is no reliable universal percentage increase. Assess the quality of work and employees’ ability to complete their tasks in the actual space.

Why do companies use coworking spaces?

Common reasons include supporting employees away from headquarters, providing temporary offices, entering new markets, and accessing meeting facilities without taking on a conventional office lease.

What is the difference between coworking and a flexible office?

Coworking usually describes a shared environment used by people from different organizations. Flexible office is a broader term that also includes private and managed offices offered under adaptable arrangements.

Can coworking help employees feel less isolated?

It can provide opportunities for interaction. Whether those develop into meaningful relationships depends on who attends, how welcoming the space feels, and what employees want from it.

Is coworking worth it?

Coworking can give employees a useful place to work and businesses more options for supporting them. The value becomes clearer when there’s a specific need: somewhere suitable near home, a place for colleagues to meet, or a temporary base for a growing team.

Start there. Let employees try the space, ask how it affects their day, and check whether it helps them get their work done.

The right arrangement should make working life easier to manage. That’s a better reason to keep it than a growing market or a busy communal kitchen.