Is WeWork a business concept, lifestyle or religion?
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By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist
If you want to know who started the “safe place” movement for millennials, I think you need look no further than Adam Neuman and Miguel McKelvey.
In 2010, these gentlemen started WeWork in New York’s SoHo district. I am going to quote Wikipedia extensively here to give you background, but in the interest of space, I will shorten Wikipedia to “Wk.”
According to Wk, “By 2014, WeWork was considered ‘the fastest-growing lessee of new office space in New York’ and was on track to become ‘the fastest-growing lessee of new space in America… As of January 2015, WeWork had 51 coworking locations in across the U.S., Europe and Israel – twice as many as it had at the end of 2014 with plans to expand to reach every continent (except Antarctica) by 2017.’”
As of today, according to Wk, “WeWork is an American company that provides shared workspaces, technology startup subculture communities, and services for entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups, small businesses and large enterprises…WeWork has a current valuation of roughly US$20 billion and manages 10 million square feet of office space.
“WeWork designs and builds physical and virtual shared spaces and office services for entrepreneurs and companies. The company’s 100,000+ members have access to health insurance, an internal social network, social events and workshops, and an annual summer retreat. WeWork has more than 2,000 (sic) – other sources say 6,000 – employees and has locations in 23 United States cities and 21 countries including Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and United Kingdom.”
Large companies are also moving employees to WeWork space.
How one manages confidentiality, productivity and myriad other vital functions of business, I haven’t a clue, since folks are largely in shared space consisting of couches and coffee bars and seem to de-stress by playing lots of games.
When I say “shared space,” I mean space without walls.
WeWork states their mission as follows: “Create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living.”
WeWork is striving to make this mission statement pervasive.
From Wk: “WeWork launched a separate but related ‘co-living’ venture called WeLive in 2016. WeLive applies the same basic principle of WeWork to housing, offering rental apartments that are grouped together with a number of shared spaces and services, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry, as well as group activities and events. The first tests of the concept launched in New York City and the Washington, D.C. Metro area.”
Then, there is “Rise by We.”
Wk: “Rise (previously known as WeWork Wellness) is a luxury gym concept, currently only available at WeWork's Manhattan location. The space consists of a yoga studio, boxing area, a boot-camp space with cardio equipment, and a general workout area. It also hosts fitness classes and offers personal training sessions. The location also has a spa.”
But wait, there’s more!
Wk: “Announced in November 2017 for a planned opening in fall 2018, WeGrow is a private school for kids aged 3 through students in grade 4. The first permanent location will be located in WeWork's New York headquarters.”
I don’t know if we are watching a reincarnation of New Harmony, Indiana, the Shakers, or reruns of “Friends” here, but something is going on.
The difference between communal colonies of old seems to be that, rather than religion-centered, the WeWork concept is at best agnostic, at worst atheist.
A clue to where they are headed comes from this article on peta.org, posted on July 16.
Titled “WeWork Bans Meat; PETA has Vegan Starter Kits for its 6,000 Employees,” this article states: “…WeWork – the New York-based shared-workspace giant that’s always upping the ante on sustainability responsibility – has begun excluding meat from all of its events’ meals and has told its employees that they’ll no longer be reimbursed for meals containing meat.”
“The new policy takes place immediately and will affect some 6,000 employees worldwide. This means that the company’s upcoming Summer Camp event will be cow, chicken, and pig flesh-free.”
According to an e-mail obtained by CNN, WeWork cofounder Miguel McKelvey explained that in just those three days, an estimated 10,000 animals will be spared.
McKelvey stated that WeWork can save an estimated 16.7 billion gallons of water, 445.1 million pounds … of CO2 emissions, and over 15 million animals by 2023 by eliminating meat’ from its events.
If the soybean farmers of Highland County felt threatened by Trump’s Chinese tariffs, I’d recommend they not divert their resources to animal husbandry.
I once worked in an office with a woman who was a radical PETA member and the most politically conservative person I have ever met (for goodness sakes, she was pushing Dan Quayle for President in 1996).
She quit because I killed a spider one day rather than catching it and releasing it in the wild. I never met anyone with this mixture of principles before or since.
The longer I live, the more astounded I become.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.
HCP columnist
If you want to know who started the “safe place” movement for millennials, I think you need look no further than Adam Neuman and Miguel McKelvey.
In 2010, these gentlemen started WeWork in New York’s SoHo district. I am going to quote Wikipedia extensively here to give you background, but in the interest of space, I will shorten Wikipedia to “Wk.”
According to Wk, “By 2014, WeWork was considered ‘the fastest-growing lessee of new office space in New York’ and was on track to become ‘the fastest-growing lessee of new space in America… As of January 2015, WeWork had 51 coworking locations in across the U.S., Europe and Israel – twice as many as it had at the end of 2014 with plans to expand to reach every continent (except Antarctica) by 2017.’”
As of today, according to Wk, “WeWork is an American company that provides shared workspaces, technology startup subculture communities, and services for entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups, small businesses and large enterprises…WeWork has a current valuation of roughly US$20 billion and manages 10 million square feet of office space.
“WeWork designs and builds physical and virtual shared spaces and office services for entrepreneurs and companies. The company’s 100,000+ members have access to health insurance, an internal social network, social events and workshops, and an annual summer retreat. WeWork has more than 2,000 (sic) – other sources say 6,000 – employees and has locations in 23 United States cities and 21 countries including Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and United Kingdom.”
Large companies are also moving employees to WeWork space.
How one manages confidentiality, productivity and myriad other vital functions of business, I haven’t a clue, since folks are largely in shared space consisting of couches and coffee bars and seem to de-stress by playing lots of games.
When I say “shared space,” I mean space without walls.
WeWork states their mission as follows: “Create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living.”
WeWork is striving to make this mission statement pervasive.
From Wk: “WeWork launched a separate but related ‘co-living’ venture called WeLive in 2016. WeLive applies the same basic principle of WeWork to housing, offering rental apartments that are grouped together with a number of shared spaces and services, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry, as well as group activities and events. The first tests of the concept launched in New York City and the Washington, D.C. Metro area.”
Then, there is “Rise by We.”
Wk: “Rise (previously known as WeWork Wellness) is a luxury gym concept, currently only available at WeWork's Manhattan location. The space consists of a yoga studio, boxing area, a boot-camp space with cardio equipment, and a general workout area. It also hosts fitness classes and offers personal training sessions. The location also has a spa.”
But wait, there’s more!
Wk: “Announced in November 2017 for a planned opening in fall 2018, WeGrow is a private school for kids aged 3 through students in grade 4. The first permanent location will be located in WeWork's New York headquarters.”
I don’t know if we are watching a reincarnation of New Harmony, Indiana, the Shakers, or reruns of “Friends” here, but something is going on.
The difference between communal colonies of old seems to be that, rather than religion-centered, the WeWork concept is at best agnostic, at worst atheist.
A clue to where they are headed comes from this article on peta.org, posted on July 16.
Titled “WeWork Bans Meat; PETA has Vegan Starter Kits for its 6,000 Employees,” this article states: “…WeWork – the New York-based shared-workspace giant that’s always upping the ante on sustainability responsibility – has begun excluding meat from all of its events’ meals and has told its employees that they’ll no longer be reimbursed for meals containing meat.”
“The new policy takes place immediately and will affect some 6,000 employees worldwide. This means that the company’s upcoming Summer Camp event will be cow, chicken, and pig flesh-free.”
According to an e-mail obtained by CNN, WeWork cofounder Miguel McKelvey explained that in just those three days, an estimated 10,000 animals will be spared.
McKelvey stated that WeWork can save an estimated 16.7 billion gallons of water, 445.1 million pounds … of CO2 emissions, and over 15 million animals by 2023 by eliminating meat’ from its events.
If the soybean farmers of Highland County felt threatened by Trump’s Chinese tariffs, I’d recommend they not divert their resources to animal husbandry.
I once worked in an office with a woman who was a radical PETA member and the most politically conservative person I have ever met (for goodness sakes, she was pushing Dan Quayle for President in 1996).
She quit because I killed a spider one day rather than catching it and releasing it in the wild. I never met anyone with this mixture of principles before or since.
The longer I live, the more astounded I become.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.