As the UK celebrates National Coworking Day on 6 June, spaces across the country will open their doors offering free coworking to anyone interested in experiencing it for themselves.

The Global Coworking Survey indicates that by the end of 2019 more than 2.2 million people will be working in 22,000 coworking spaces worldwide.

And it seems the coworking trend is here to stay with the vast majority of coworkers indicating that they are planning on sticking with the concept. More spaces are opening in small and medium sized cities so coworking is becoming more accessible, even outside the megacities.

The Melting Pot (TMP) opened its doors as Scotland’s first coworking space in 2007, before the term coworking was defined and the global industry developed.

The vision of Founder Claire Carpenter was of a workplace connected to an effective social innovation community.

To mark Coworking day, The Melting Pot has released details of its social impact and found coworking promotes equality, improves well-being and increases impact.

One third of The Melting Pot’s Members founded their organisation and 42% of the founders at TMP are women, this is double the UK average.

Eileen Moir, TMP Member and founder of Turning Tides, said:

Becoming a member of The Melting Pot was the best business decision I made after setting up my coaching and consultancy practice. It really helped me to step fully into my own light as an entrepreneur.

Coworking reduces isolation and improves well-being, 95% of Members at The Melting Pot feel they belong to a community.

Poppy Isaacs works remotely for DMA Global she said:

Joining The Melting Pot helped me personally and professionally. I realised working from home was not good for my mental health, coming into TMP every week gave me a sense of purpose.

Impact is influenced by a variety of factors from business model to capacity. Coworking increases impact by providing a productive working environment, 90% of Members said The Melting Pot helped them find inspiration and motivation.

Effective collaboration also increases impact, 42% of Members at The Melting Pot had formed a collaboration generating revenue, jobs and opportunities. 100% of people who formed collaborations at The Melting Pot were happy with the results.

This post was submitted by Cleo Goodman. Image: The Melting Pot