Fortunately, 9to5 Travel has the freedom to travel on a whim, so we can take our work anywhere we please. But when we’re not jet setting around the world, we call Vancouver home – and when we’re at home in Kitsilano, we like to work at the “coffice”.
Coffice is a portmanteau of “coffee” and “office” used to describe coffee houses and cafes utilized for work purposes. Coffice was initially coined in South Korea a few years ago, but can now be heard everywhere from Canada to the USA to Europe and even Australia: Microsoft Australia created a “coffice” environment in their actual building – employees don’t have permanent desks! Skype offices in Stockholm, Sweden have their own coffices as well. Obviously these companies took inspiration from the big corporate giants like Facebook and Google who are famous for providing unique working environments for their dedicated employees. Incidentally, Gary and I were invited to the Google campus near Seattle and got to see first hand where and how employees get to work. Pretty amazing place!
Skype in Stockholm, Sweden
Google Headquarters, California
Corporate coffices are great, but who will you find in a regular coffice? Everyone from public relations consultants to freelance writers and designers to bloggers to telecommuting corporate executives to employees of companies that allow and/or encourage teleworking, etc. A cafe is also the perfect meeting place for those who don’t have space in their own office, or for people looking for an environment that is more relaxed than a stuffy boardroom. Working in a office, nine floors up in the sky behind closed doors, doesn’t lend itself to someone walking by, joining you for a coffee and offering an opportunity for new business, but coffices do.
As a couple who spends loads of time working from mobile offices around the world, we have come to know what makes a great coffice. The perfect coffice has the following characteristics: First and foremost free wi-fi hotspot service, excellent coffee to fuel creative juices with caffeine, some tasty treats, quiet music playing softly in the background, friendly staff, comfy seats, and power outlets are a bonus when your laptop battery dies.
One of our favorite local coffices is Woodvillage Cafe (seen here) in Vancouver, BC. And of course, our usual world coffice is Starbucks! Do you have the freedom in your job to work from a coffice? Let us know in the comments below where your favorite coffices are located around the world.
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