With research showing that workers would like to spend an average of 2.4 days per week working remotely and the fact that our working style has changed over the last year, it was inevitable that we would be crying out for better co-working spaces. One business in Portsmouth doing just that is Phlex. This independent business is a marketplace on a mission to build better co-working communities. Based in Portsmouth, Phlex brings together co-workers with spaces – both traditional spaces and anywhere with spare capacity such as established businesses, pubs, community centres, and even your home or shed. Their intention is to be the ‘go to’ place for co-working in the UK for both the entrepreneurial and corporate markets, building a co-working community, and providing the flexibility that the market craves.
This week they announced they have partnered with local pub chain Brewhouse + Kitchen and The Host Space to offer co-working spaces in the Southsea and Portsmouth areas. Phlex has also agreed a deal with Brewhouse & Kitchen to use their venues as co-working spaces, nationally.
Co-working platform, Phlex, is focussing on running dedicated co-working spaces in towns and cities in the UK. Its aim is to revolutionise co-working by creating thousands of new local co-working spaces up and down the country in existing pubs, restaurants, hotels, churches, and service facilities.
As well as this Phlex has launched a shop called The Phlex Space selling products to enable effective co-working, such as an ergonomic work kit. The Phlex Space will also be selling bespoke portable standing desks created by The Makers Guild as well as partnering with other local businesses to provide bespoke upcycled office chairs.
Led by co-founders, registered osteopath and chartered ergonomist, Jill Farmer, and marketing consultant, Caroline Sumners, Phlex aims to set up co-working facilities in local communities outside of major cities. Based in the suburbs of cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester, the aim is to offer co-working in areas where people live, rather than where they traditionally go to work.
Local facilities will offer socially-distanced co-working with bespoke deals throughout the day to encourage workers to get out of the home and into venues to support hospitality businesses as we emerge out of lockdown. The services offered differs in each location and include unlimited Wi-Fi, multiple power sockets and dog-friendly environments.
Phlex was born out of Jill and Caroline’s frustrations of the challenges of working from home and looking for a community-based, local working environment, highlighted even further over the last 12 months. They created the business to help themselves and others say goodbye to home-working isolation and access less traditional co-working places, at the same time help small local hospitality and food and drink businesses hit hard by COVID-19.
Caroline Sumners, Co-Founder at Phlex said: “With so many of us working remotely and many corporates embracing it for the first time it’s not a trend – it is here to stay. Working remotely doesn’t mean having to work from home – there are so many advantages to local co-working for workers and also for the local pubs who need to stimulate custom. It’s brilliant that local churches are also opening their doors. We are on a mission to get Britain working safely, locally.”
Abi Lane, Community Manager at The Host said: “Phlex has opened up our co-working space to potential customers that we have not reached before. Because they already have a great network, their current users talk to each other and recommend spaces to try out. We have had 4 or so users from Phlex come and use The Host. Also, their beautiful website makes us proud to be listed. It is so complimentary to our business and we love being part of their co-working community.”
All venues COVID-19 safe – workers can sign-up to book spaces via website or through QR codes
So if you have been working in your pyjamas for most of the past year and feel that it would be great for your mental health to venture out to a cool co-working space in a nice environment with other people, please check out all the details of how you can spend a little more time working away from home but still remote.
