August 9 is International Co-Working Day, a day commonly overlooked by many people throughout the globe. We think more people should take the time to appreciate this day. In many ways, it represents a form of growth in the business world. In this post, we’d like to discuss 3 ways that you can create a healthier co-working environment. First, let’s just briefly go over the basics of co-working.

Co-working refers to the practice of having multiple companies sharing the same space, same equipment, and same general infrastructure. This means that co-working involves employees from these different companies working alongside each other, using the same equipment. Even though they aren’t collaborating on the same projects. This represents a critical cost-saving strategy: companies in co-working environments share the costs associated with paying for and maintaining a given workspace. This can make a world of difference to certain companies from a financial perspective.

In another sense, co-working represents a triumph for cooperation among separate companies, it shows that people can come together and get along, even if they aren’t necessarily working toward the same exact goal. The question becomes: how can you maximize this experience and ensure that your co-working environment is healthy?

The first tip we have shouldn’t be a surprise: one of the key ingredients for any successful and healthy workspace is mutual respect, and so naturally this applies just as much to the co-working environment as any other. Show respect to the employees from other companies in your co-working space; this takes the form of basic professional courtesies, using polite speaking tones, positive language, looking out for others, and so forth. A bit of respect goes a long way.

Tip #2: Be Helpful

Another tip is to be conducive to those around you. If you’re too wrapped up in your own projects, you might end up creating a work environment which isn’t as cooperative and positive as would be ideal. Be sure to offer assistance to those around you when you can, because the natural response will be for others to assist you in return. This is precisely the kind of collaborative environment that you want to foster.

You might think that this “goes without saying,” but remember that a workspace is just a collection of different energies, the same as with any other space. When you bring in negative energy, that will impact others around you. And the last thing you want is to create an unpleasant workspace which features infighting, quarreling, and other forms of dysfunctionality. Take the extra step to bring a positive energy to your co-working space, you’ll be rewarded handsomely.