Ditching tradition: How working from the office has changed
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Auckland marketing agency boss Ben Cochrane believes that post-Covid offices have to offer people something they can’t get working at home - and many conventional office spaces can’t do that.
That’s one of the reasons he decided to move from the office building he had leased space in for 11 years to a co-working space down the road when his lease term was nearing its end.
And he’s not alone in doing so, with new research from listings platform sharedspace.co.nz showing there has been a big increase in the number of new co-working space users who have made the same move over the last year.
Cochrane said Covid had changed office workplaces permanently, with the flexibility for people to work from home now key.
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“But for smaller professional service businesses like ours, we need to be nimble, with quick speeds and ideas and creativity to compete.
“And that doesn't happen when you’re separated from other people. It doesn't matter how good you are on a Zoom call, it just doesn't happen. You need to get people into the office.”
To do that it was necessary to provide people with something they couldn’t get working remotely, so they wanted to come in, and a great work environment and office atmosphere was the way to do it, he said.
“With our previous office, if a few people were away the atmosphere was dead. At the Textile Lofts, the co-working space we’ve moved to, there’s a buzz around the place, and it’s cool.
“We’ve already had a couple clients turn up and say that, and that's really important for us in our line of work. That's what we're selling as well: the sizzle, and energy.
“There’s a lot of different spaces that encourage creativity and networking, and it feels more like a clubhouse and more dynamic than a corporate office.”
Cochrane said another driver behind the move was that traditional landlords had not moved with the times on leasing arrangements, and that was a problem in the current environment.
“They still want three-year leases, and when you don't know what's going to happen next month, let alone in two years, signing up to a quarter of a million dollar lease - by the time you've added OPEX, cleaning, rates and so on - that feels like a pretty dodgy business decision.
“Whereas in a co-working space you can do it month by month if you want, and take more or less space depending on staff size. That flexibility in these times is more valuable than the price, although it is cheaper too.”
Now, that he had made the move he could not imagine why he would return to a traditional office arrangement.
Cochrane’s story personifies one of the key insights in the Sharedspace report into the co-working and flexible workspace market sector.
It found 39% of new users in co-working spaces over the past year had moved from traditional leased office premises, more than double the proportion recorded the previous year.
A further 24% of new users were returning to office space from fully remote work at home.
Sharedspace founder Matt Knight said it reflected a major shift in how businesses were approaching office space, and showed that co-working had evolved well beyond freelancers and startups.
“Established businesses, corporate teams and growing companies are actively moving away from traditional office leases in favour of more flexible workspace solutions that allow them to scale, reduce risk and adapt to changing work patterns.”
Tougher economic times were also playing into the shift, with businesses looking round for options when their long term office leases near the end.
“People are seeking flexibility, and if you move into a co-working style space you've got consistent costs and the flexibility to increase or decrease your space as required.”
But another attractive feature of many co-working spaces, especially some of the newer ones, was the level of additional amenities they offered - from cafes and bars, to gyms and virtual golf simulators, to private cinemas.
“Most businesses are not going to be able to get that level of amenity or location at the kind of price point on offer with a traditional office lease, unless they have a big budget and can pay for a large premises.”
From a commercial perspective, co-working spaces enabled businesses to get into the sort of office spaces that were previously inaccessible to them, Knight said.
South Island property development company Infinity Investment Group is another business that has recently moved into a co-working space after being in a traditional office lease for 20 years.
The move was triggered when the company shifted its base from Wānaka to Christchurch, but Infinity’s chief executive Paul Croft said initially they were looking at offices where they would sign a six-year lease and do a big fitout.
But the business was evolving, and they did not know exactly how many people they would be employing over the next period of time, and then they came across Qb Studios in central Christchurch.
“We thought this place is funky and lively, and the location’s great. And we could lock in for a year as opposed to a more traditional office where there would be a six-year lease probably at minimum.
“With a traditional lease, initially we’d have ended up with too much space or paying too much money for our size now. At Qb, we have a 12-person private office, and we can move into other spaces as we get bigger, which is our plan.”
That gave greater flexibility for the company to grow, and adapt at its own pace, and was really appealing logistically and financially, he said.
“After being used to individual offices, we’ve had to adjust to an open plan room with individual desks, but it’s been beneficial for us as a team because we're hearing more, we're engaging more, and there’s a better transfer of information.
“But there’s been lots of other benefits too, particularly in terms of the broader community and the networking opportunities. The building has a lovely vibe, and good energy.”
There were no downsides to the move and he could not imagine a scenario where the company would go back to a traditional office lease, he said.
Sharedspace’s report showed the number of co-working spaces in New Zealand is continuing to grow, but the rate of growth has slowed.
There are now 213 co-working spaces nationwide, up 4% from 205 last year, it found. But in 2024 Sharedspace reported that the sector had an average of 22% growth every year since 2013.
Knight said the sector’s rapid growth years might be slowing slightly, but the sector was entering a more mature phase.
It was becoming more stable, more established, and increasingly integrated into the wider commercial property market, he said.
“Businesses are increasingly prioritising flexibility, workplace experience, and employee engagement when evaluating office space, and reassessing long-term office commitments.”
It was worth noting that for the first time, 12-month agreements overtook month-to-month memberships as the most common contract term in co-working spaces, he added.
The report showed co-working spaces now had a footprint of 201,285m² nationwide, up from 188,000m² last year, and that the average size of spaces was increasing.
Within the total, 25 providers operate multiple spaces, and 75% of spaces are locally owned. There are 71 spaces in Auckland and 27 in Wellington, while Canterbury and Waikato each have 23.
Meanwhile, 74% of operators reported increased revenue from meeting rooms, event spaces, and other amenities, and 46% of operators said they were planning to expand their business.