10 ways to celebrate International Coworking Day

The beginning of August means only one thing in the coworking industry – we’re counting down the days to International Coworking Day!

On the 9th of August, International Coworking Day celebrates the date in 2005 when Brad Neuberg, the self-proclaimed pioneer of coworking, notoriously published a blog post introducing coworking for the first time.

The global coworking community marks International Coworking Day in their calendars to spread awareness about the transformative power of making connections, collaborations, and being part of a coworking community.

Here are 10 ways to celebrate International Coworking Day 2024.

1. Open your doors to the wider community

Hosting an open day is easily one of the most popular ways that global coworking spaces choose to mark International Coworking Day.

Open doors are the perfect way to invite a wider community to try out your workspace for the day free of charge, and it’s a handy marketing campaign – letting more people know that your workspace exists.

As coworking still isn’t widely known about or understood, International Coworking Day is the opportune moment to spread the word about the coworking movement more widely.

2. Give out free day passes

But, why celebrate coworking only one day of the year?

Many people aren’t part of a coworking community, with the Office for National Statistics reporting that between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, 16% of the UK population worked from home.

Whether someone doesn’t have a coworking office available on their doorstep, or they can’t afford the monthly fees, there are multiple reasons why someone can’t join a workspace community.

In other cases, they might just be unsure what the benefits are.

Giving away a limited number of free day passes continues to bring people in to try the space, and once they’ve tried coworking – they’re going to love it!

3. Post about it on social media

International Coworking Day is an industry-wide celebration.

But, most coworking community members don’t work in the flexible workspace sector, so they wouldn’t necessarily know that this day is happening, or what it stands for.

Leading up to the celebration, post about it on your social media channels, building hype about the movement so that everyone knows what you’re planning on the day.

Hubspot recommends sharing visual content online, as 53% of consumers spend the most time engaging with images, photos, and infographics, while 44% enjoy short-form video content.

4. Run a competition with your community

You don’t have to document International Coworking Day online yourself.

Why not involve your community?

Some spaces celebrate this day by running fun competitions – like asking the community to take photos of their favourite spot in the workspace or shooting a video of their team.

Or even get their pets involved.

For example, running a competition of the best-behaved dogs in the workspace gets people excited and aware of your dog-friendly office.

After all, 75% of pet owners claim that spending time with their animals reduces feelings of stress, and their ability to take pets into the office improves their workplace productivity, strengthening their work ethic.

5. Facilitate a workshop

For many people, joining a coworking space is about having a work environment away from home.

Their professional development then becomes an additional bonus to the coworking experience.

To that end, International Coworking Day is the perfect moment to help your community upskill in their careers.

From elevating their marketing knowledge with a personal branding workshop to sharing money-saving and tax tips in a session run by an accountant – there are many topics to explore that benefit your community’s professional lives.

Utilise the rich cross-pollination of skillsets within your community to offer them the very best advice.

6. Test out a new idea or offering

As many freelancers and startups have historically been attracted to the flexible and fun nature of coworking, the movement has often been synonymous with innovation.

So celebrate innovation and creativity on the 9th of August 2024 – launch a brand new idea in your workspace, or run an event that unleashes your community’s innovative streak.

For example, you could organise a hackathon for a new product or service (if your community is startup-heavy), or launch a brand new event series (like one of the upskilling workshops).

You never know where it might take you!

7. Host a community lunch

Alongside providing a professional workspace, coworking should also be a social experience that promotes a sense of belonging.

Food is one such vehicle that enables people to connect.

For example, the founder of Coworking Bansko, Matthias Zeitler, says that when they have community lunches in their spaces, it “creates an opportunity for people to get to know each other and then other connections will form.”

With International Coworking Day around the corner, it’s the perfect time to host a community lunch, or even a coffee and cake morning, to break the ice between new members, and bring everyone in your community closer together.

8. Organise a wellness-related activity

Wellness and coworking go hand in hand, with the movement existing to promote a better work-life balance.

For instance, when Neuberg wrote about the coworking movement in 2005, he described how they “begin the day with a short meditation and circle to set our personal and work intentions and check in physically and emotionally where we are” (at his workspace, Spiral Muse, in San Francisco).

Nowadays, many flexible workspaces offer dedicated well-being and fitness amenities alongside office space.

Consider using those spaces to organise a wellness event on International Coworking Day, from a Yoga class to a nature walk.

9. Partner with local businesses

Don’t worry if you haven’t got any wellness or fitness amenities because you can take advantage of the collaborative nature of the coworking movement, and seek partnerships with space local to your office.

Even if it’s just a token offering, from a free coffee at your nearby coffee shop, or a discount on a gym membership in celebration of International Coworking Day.

Local business partnerships have become popular, particularly with independent coworking spaces operating under the work-near-home manifesto.

As Vibushan Thirukumar, founder of Oru, puts it: “When people spend more time locally, that means they reinvest their money in the local economy.”

10. Make it a week-long celebration

International Coworking Day 2024 is happening on Friday.

With only 13% of workers coming into their office on Fridays, why not make the event last longer and celebrate this event throughout the week?

In the lead-up to the 9th of August, consider hosting a daily activity to build up the hype within your workspace community.

Use your coworking software to update your community about your plans and events throughout the week, and don’t be afraid to make a big deal out of this celebration – it only happens once a year!