Is the “Coffice” Economy (That’s Coffee Shop-Office) a Thing Now?
We each spend an average of £2,160 a year working from coffee shops – but we close business deals worth £14.5 BILLION to the UK economy.
New research has been published today that reveals the value and work that is added to the British economy from people working out of coffee shops and the coining of a new term – the “Coffice”. The size of the “Coffice” economy is extensive, as four out of five Brits have worked from a coffee shop and do so regularly.
The research, conducted by leading discount voucher website MyVoucherCodes, discovered that 81% of us spend roughly three and a half hours working from a coffee shop every week and it’s not just startups or self-employed workers doing so.
Findings from the research included:
- Business deals closed in a coffee shop represents an estimated £14.5 billion for the economy;
- One third of Brits have closed a business deal in a ‘coffice’;
- 56% of respondents work from a coffee shop on a weekly basis;
- On average, we spend up to £10 on food/drink each working session;
- Whilst 43% of us are concerned with the lack of privacy in a coffee shop, 1 in 3 people have attended a job interview there;
- 67% of respondents said their place of work supported the idea of working from a “coffice”, perhaps proving that companies are more forward-thinking than ever before;
- The average working session in a coffee shop lasts for 93 minutes.
Contrary to what might be a common assumption that the self-employed may be more partial to working in a coffee shop, three in four employees in large-sized businesses (250+ employees) often decide to shun the office for the coffee shop – with the approval of their bosses no less.
These bosses may be increasingly aware of the added monetary value that working from a “coffice” brings. The data shows that coffee shop workers have great success in closing business deals, valued at an average of £1,732 each, representing an estimated £14.53 billion contribution to the UK economy.
The “coffice”, however, does come with its own costs. When considering travel and food/drink expenses, the average Brit spends over £2,160 a year working from a coffee shop, 8% of their salary, and this climbs to nearly £2,600 for the self-employed worker. Suddenly the Wi-Fi isn’t so free.
If buying a hot drink is a form of “coffice” rent, then what is the coff-preneur’s drink of choice? In a thoroughly un-British turn of events, only 8% of us choose a cup of tea to power our work. In fact, it is the Italian cappuccino that fires British business (26%), closely followed by a latte (21%).
Chris Reilly, Managing Director at MyVoucherCodes comments: “This new research shows the rise of the “coffice” as a place for Brits to work and cut business deals.
With 13% of us working out of a coffee shop every day and the UK coffee shop market experiencing strong growth that is forecast to continue, the “coffice” trend is also set to maintain popularity for a while yet.
(Source: MyVoucherCodes)
