Goodbye, Bellevue
Is this the end of coworking?
The parking lot was nearly empty, as I suspected it would be. As I approached the double doors, I saw the signs: “You must wear a face mask to enter and during your time in the building.” Although it was the middle of the workday, the doors were locked, but I knew that the app on my phone would let me in.
No friendly face greeted me as I walked by the front desk. No coffee was brewing. The coworking space was quiet without the usual background music or the sound of conversation. I walked around and saw a few people in private offices around the periphery of the building, sealed in behind closed glass doors.
It was time to do what I came for: clear out the fixed desk that had been my office since The Riveter Bellevue opened in September 2018. There were two people working in my section of the building, neither of them wearing masks. I kept my distance while I unplugged my computer monitor and collected the items from my personal filing cabinet.
Remarkably, my air plant was still alive even though I hadn’t been to The Riveter since mid-March. Technically, members with 24/7 access to the coworking space were allowed in the building, but my work as a writer is location-independent. Even though I was paying only half the usual monthly rent, it seemed a waste of money for a service I wasn’t using. I thought of suspending my membership earlier, but back in March, many of us were still hoping that the shutdown would be temporary. In April, I didn’t get around to canceling.
I am fortunate that none of my family members or close friends have died or become seriously ill from Covid-19. My youngest son just turned 22, so I don’t need to worry about homeschooling or entertaining young children. My husband and I both have jobs that can be done from home. He is still pulling in his full-time salary, so finances are not a problem.
Despite my relative good fortune, I have still been grieving. The loss of freedom. The loss of social interaction with friends. The loss of my coworking space. When I moved to the Seattle area in 2014, I didn’t know anyone besides family. Back in California, I was satisfied working from home. When my children were in elementary school, I worked in my home office between 9 am and 2 pm before heading out to pick up my kids. I socialized with other moms while we waited for the bell to signal the end of the school day.
Shortly after moving to Seattle, I looked up groups in Meetup, which is how I eventually found my way to Impact Hub Bellevue, the first coworking space I joined. I no longer had to stay home all day or buy temporary workspace for the price of a latte at Starbucks. Impact Hub was a vibrant community, but then the building got demolished to make way for light rail. I supported public transit but was disappointed to lose my coworking community.
Fortunately, I found a new community at The Riveter. Their tagline, “Built by women, for everyone,” resonated with me, and the spaces were filled with intelligent, creative business professionals. I made new friends, and my productivity blossomed. I credit The Riveter with helping me stay focused enough to finish editing my first book, which I published in April of 2019.
Whenever I hosted events at any of the three Seattle-area Riveter locations, I would send a message to the Facebook group and Slack channel starting with, “Hello, Bellevue,” or “Hello, Capitol Hill,” or “Hello, Fremont.” Hence the title of this article.
Shortly after I canceled my membership, The Riveter announced that they were closing all their coworking spaces. They claimed that they always envisioned an online community, which they launched nationwide in February before the pandemic. But it isn’t the same as a physical coworking space. In the past few months, millions of workers have adjusted to working from home, and some may never return to an office. I suspect that I will be one of them.
I have learned to work productively at home out of necessity. Fortunately, habits that I developed, like writing the day’s plans in a paper journal each morning before checking email, help me stay focused. But I still mourn the loss of coworking. I wonder if the concept will ever return.
