As the outbreak and spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, pushes most residents indoors to shelter, live and work from home. #WFH hashtags have been popping up on social media, with local residents showing off kitchen table offices and backyard digs.
And as a further sign working from home has become at least a temporary part of the new normal, Common Desk has started offering WFH memberships.
“There’s no understating it: these times are hard. Many of us are figuring out how to work from home for the very first time,” the company wrote in a blog post announcing the new membership offering. “Though we are currently distanced from others, we have never needed community more.”
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The Dallas-based coworking company has closed its doors to all non-members until March 30. Other coworking spaces have done the same or completely shut their doors during the crisis, like accelerator Capital Factory, which recently furloughed 33 of its employees in Dallas and Austin.
However, Common Desk said that it wants to continue its mission of fostering a local business community with its WFH membership. In a blog post, Common Desk said that in addition to the benefits of business connections, the WFH membership will give members a human connection, including weekly digital happy hours, that many people are looking for during these times of uncertainty and self-isolation.
“'Normal' days for our company have been turned upside down by the coronavirus (as yours probably have, too),” Common Desk wrote in the post. “Our memberships have never mattered more to our brand and our team.”
NTX Inno spoke to Common Desk CEO and Founder Nick Clark a couple weeks ago. At the time, in addition to allowing staff to work from home, the company was pulling chairs from its common spaces to create more social distancing. Clark said companies like Common Desk face an immediate threat from slowdowns caused by the virus, due to many members being on monthly subscriptions to the space. However, at the time, he said he was not yet concerned about the financial impact of the virus and that being a relatively smaller business in the industry helps, in that the company is a bit more mobile than national giants like WeWork.
“Small business right now is kind of in trouble. It’s kind of a call to action to take responsibility and support local business right now. We’re one of those small businesses, where we depend on all our members to keep us going, so I think we’re all hoping there’s a little power of loyalty,” Clark told NTX Inno earlier this month.
Common Desk WFH monthly memberships will be offered to existing and new members and will let members choose the rate they wish to pay. Among the perks Common Desk is offering are virtual mailing, social (distancing) clubs, online resources and a one-day pass per month after things go back to “business as usual.”
“Common Desk has always been a place that allows people to connect with one another, engage in rich conversations, and find community,” Clark wrote on Common Desk’s website. “Let’s get through this time, together.”
