fbpx
Connect with us
Apply Now

Entrepreneurship

Iconic Co-working Founder, Jenny Folley, Predicts Industry Will Expand To New & Blue Collar Jobs

According to Jenny Folley, traditional white-collar dominated coworking and private office spaces are being adopted by blue-collar workers across Australia as industries respond to the challenges of COVID.  

Jenny Folley is the founder and director of @WORKSPACES, one of the world’s leading premium coworking and private offices. @WORKSPACES has sites across Australia, the Philippines, and is set to launch in several other countries. 

Coworking and private office spaces consist of several separate businesses that work independently in their own spaces but share common spaces and resources. @WORKSPACES is located in cities as well as suburban areas.

@Workspace in Melbourne

“COVID-19 has disrupted the Australian business landscape more than we can tell,” said Folley.  

“Coworking spaces and private offices are set to boom, credit to the ramifications of COVID-19. Non-white collar businesses and professionals are moving away from fixed cost leases to workspaces that offer flexibility, scalability, and access to a broad range of services and resources without the lock-in long term contracts. 

Most businesses have realised that physical space is not necessary for a business to be efficient and relevant. 

“White-collar workers have also embraced coworking spaces and more recently, coworking and private office spaces in suburban areas. COVID-19 has forced people to think about working from home or close to home. This avoids the hustle and bustle of the city, extortionate parking fees, and tedious commutes. Thus, an affordable, convenient suburban hub – is a natural choice.” 

New collar workspaces

According to Folley, coworking spaces are creating new collar workspaces – where any type of shirt is welcome. 

“Coworking spaces are emerging to be the perfect post-pandemic fit for all small to medium size businesses across the country. They are also ideal for large businesses looking to establish flexible spaces for new divisions, mobile workforces and project teams,” added Folley.  

“With many blue-collar roles coming from small businesses, bouncing back from COVID-19 will require many industries to reduce their overheads by seeking out alternative tenancy options.” 

@workspace in Brighton

@workspace in Brighton

“Coworking and private office spaces offer conventional blue-collar workers the opportunity to consolidate with a cheaper, more flexible space that will still allow them to work with their standing client base. 

“These types of spaces will future-proof trade jobs across Australia by offering each small business tenant access to their own secure, socially distanced workspace.”

According to Folley, this set up is ideal for an array of blue-collar industries. 

Flexibility and scalability are key

“Imagine a space where technicians across a broad range of industries could utilise state-of-the-art large bench spaces to perfect their art, hairdressers could own their own chair and work when they wanted, and IT specialists could set up a one-stop-shop to consult with clients and bounce ideas off other neighbouring experts,” Folley said. 

According to Folley, this arrangement can be utilised by healthcare professionals who want a flexible workspace or private consulting room separate from the hospital. Physiotherapists, dieticians, and podiatrists enjoy the contemporary workplace layout. The flexibility and scalability of coworking and private office spaces expand the options for all types of businesses and operators. 

Demand driving growth

“We are actively looking for more sites as well as suburban sites. Demand is certainly driving growth. We believe COVID will push more businesses into adaptable and flexible low-risk work environments like coworking and private office spaces over the next six to 12 months,” Folley said.

“I think we are going to see more diversity in the professions adopting coworking and private office spaces. They are going to become attractive locations for a broader range of businesses.

“Our TOK corporate centre in Toorak, Victoria is already home to many health and wellness services including cosmetic, physiotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, nutritionists, dentists, doctors, and so on.”

@WORKSPACES is a premium service provider of coworking and private office workspaces that are strategically located in cities as well as suburban hubs – and near fitness centres, parks, and dining and shopping precincts, so business clients are able to maintain a healthy work/life balance and enjoy all the benefits of a fully serviced office.

Continue Reading


Copyright © 2022 Disrupt ™ Magazine is a Minority Owned Privately Held Company - Disrupt ™ was founder by Puerto Rican serial entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Delgado who is on a mission to transform Latin America using the power of education and entrepreneurship.

Disrupt ™ Magazine
151 Calle San Francisco
Suite 200
San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00901

Opinions expressed by Disrupt Contributors are their own. Disrupt Magazine invites voices from many diverse walks of life to share their perspectives on our contributor platform. We are big believers in freedom of speech and while we do enforce our community guidelines, we do not actively censor stories on our platform because we want to give our contributors the freedom to express their opinions. Articles are not commissioned by our editorial team, and opinions expressed by our community contributors do not reflect the opinions of Disrupt or its employees.
We are committed to fighting the spread of misinformation online so if you feel an article on our platform goes against our community guidelines or contains false information, we do encourage you to report it. We need your help to fight the spread of misinformation. For more information please visit our Contributor Guidelines available here.


Disrupt ™ is the voice of latino entrepreneurs around the world. We are part of a movement to increase diversity in the technology industry and we are focused on using entrepreneurship to grow new economies in underserved communities both here in Puerto Rico and throughout Latin America. We enable millennials to become what they want to become in life by learning new skills and leveraging the power of the digital economy. We are living proof that all you need to succeed in this new economy is a landing page and a dream. Disrupt tells the stories of the world top entrepreneurs, developers, creators, and digital marketers and help empower them to teach others the skills they used to grow their careers, chase their passions and create financial freedom for themselves, their families, and their lives, all while living out their true purpose. We recognize the fact that most young people are opting to skip college in exchange for entrepreneurship and real-life experience. Disrupt Magazine was designed to give the world a taste of that.