QUIET WORKSPACES
One business that reopened Friday offers a work environment free of noise, other types of distractions
Could you use a work environment that's free of noise, other types of distractions and toxins?
If so, Workflow Coworking and Offices has just the place for you.
Its Workflow OKC location, at 916 NW 6, fully reopened Friday after opening briefly in March and then being required to close its coworking commons space due to coronavirus social distancing restrictions.
Now that the co working space is open again, it along with upstairs office spaces can be used by clients on a daily or monthly basis.
The offices upstairs are furnished, include Class A amenities and are designed to support small teams that make up growing businesses.
Monthly membership rates f or both t he commons and upstairs office spaces ($ 300 and $1,000, respectively) are competitive with what someone might have to pay for a longer-term lease, but without many of the hassles a longer agreement typically includes.
A member, for example, can belong one month and then leave without paying any type of termination fee.
As f or people wanting t o belong for a day, the current rate for that is $15 for the commons space downstairs or $50 for an office on the upper level.
The per-foot rental rate is about $8.50, which company co-owner Chelsea Banks said is very competitive considering perks members receive that include parking, Wi- Fi, the exercise and networking opportunities and other amenities.
Banks and co- owner Ginger Casper said their Workflow OKC concept aims to create an environment geared toward helping clients work and live better.
The building's design, they observed, uses plenty of natural light and is cleaned and maintained using nontoxic materials.
“Monotony, loneliness and isolation are enemies of good work,” Workflow OKC's brochure reads. “Workflow replaces these common challenges with an atmosphere of community, collaboration and growth.”
In turn, that empowers members to break their norms and unite under a common goal of doing good work, it continues.
Banks said Workflow OKC offers 15 private offices, some set up so that they can be used by multiple clients.
Currently, about a half-dozen businesses are renting offices upstairs, leaving plenty of room for successful commons members to transition up.
The office level includes its own commons space, a large conference room and an area where a printer/ fax/scanner is located.
The coworking space located on the building's lower level, meanwhile, provides both daily and monthly members an area where they can choose a comfortable spot to spread out, plug in and get to work.
On one end of the floor, the commons space includes a kitchenette, restroom facilities and an office area for another printer/fax/scanner.
At the other end, the commons area features a sound- proof “phone booth” designed to both keep noise out and inside conversations private.
The commons area also has a studio where both commons and office members can parti ci - pate in twice-daily yoga, foundation training or kung fu classes and two small conference rooms, including one that's set up for podcasting.
Conference rooms can be booked by members as part of their privileges or rented on an hourly basis by daily guests.
Banks and Casper said their business is in the south part of a building renovated by Pivot Project that previously had been an automobile parts warehouse supporting an adjacent service center.
They said they plan to open other locations in Oklahoma City, and currently are putting together another operation that will serve young professionals and gig-economy workers in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
They emphasized that Workflow OKC is physically and operationally designed to help improve tenants' health, bringing in plenty of natural light and maintained by workers who use only non-toxic cleaners.
That, th eye mph asized, should be especially attractive to members, especially after the most recent COVID19 emergency.
“Everything is designed to promote human health, and we are definitely bridging the gap between a professional office space and one that is attractive and flexible to a gig worker,” Casper said.
“We are trying to make it happen for both sides and be the future of a healthy place to office and work.”
Banks agreed.
"We are here to serve small and growing businesses. We want to be a place where people not only feel productive, but are learning healthy habits for their lives," she said.