With many people working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it makes sense
for companies across London to reconsider the expense of renting out large office
space. But long term remote working can often make your team feel isolated and
unmotivated so companies are looking at alternative solutions. A workspace to get
them out of the house or somewhere they can meet up in person.
Coworking offices in London can be rented out on a far more flexible basis, with less
of a long term commitment. But moving into a coworking space will have some travel
considerations that your company needs to be aware of.
Public transport
While your team might be struggling with working from home, getting to any workplace safely
at the moment could be a challenge.
Public transport across London has put in place safety measures such as hand sanitiser,
social distancing, and regular cleaning, which should reduce the risk. But travelling by bus or
the tube still requires being confined to a small space with lots of other people, and your staff
might not feel comfortable with that and it increases their chances of coming into contact
with the virus.
A new location
It’s also unlikely that you’re going to be using a coworking space that’s in the exact same
location as your offices were. This means that it might not be as easy for your team to travel
there regularly.
You might want to offer several different coworking spaces to accommodate your team at
different locations to ensure that they’re able to easily access them.
Travelling by car
With these factors in mind, and the fact that less people are on the roads in London at the
moment, you might want to recommend your team use a car to travel to your coworking
space.
If driving seems to be the safest, most efficient way for them to get there during the
pandemic, it might be worthwhile investing in fuel cards for your business. You might think
covering fuel expenses is going to cost a lot and create more admin, but fuel cards are
effectively credit cards that can only be used to pay for fuel.
Many of them offer discounts on filling up, and they provide better visibility over how much
you are spending on fuel. There’s no need for your team to keep paper receipts or fill in an
expenses form to claim back the money, all purchases will be automatically logged in an
online system. You can choose from lots of different fuel card options to find one that suits
your businesses exact requirements.
Employees that do drive will need easy access to parking — so it’s worth looking into car
parks close to your coworking locations.
Travelling by bike
Not everyone is going to have access to a car or want to drive through London every day. So
another alternative could be setting up a Cyclescheme. This gives employees a discount on
buying a bike and related accessories. Plus they don’t have to pay upfront, instead, they pay
in monthly instalments taken out of their wages.
This will help your team to avoid using public transport, and also give them a chance to get
outside and exercise on their way to work. Though you will also need to look at where your
team can store their bikes once they get to the coworking space.
These are just a few of the travel considerations companies need to be aware of when
using coworking in London. Coworking offers a number of benefits and with a few
simple adjustments, you can make your new working space easy for everyone to
access.
Photo credits: coworkinglondon.com