Jamie Rissi's wish that she would soon be able to see the smiling faces of her co-working members came true last week when Gov. Tim Walz announced he would allow Minnesota's stricter stay-at-home order to expire Monday.
"The biggest thing that we are getting from our members is just that we want to see your face," said Rissi, operations manager of St. Paul co-working office Wellworth.
Co-working providers have faced dwindling membership numbers as their spaces remained mostly empty or closed completely. The threat of COVID-19 and the mandate to distance from people has kept workers away from offices in general, and for co-working offices, which rely on short-term memberships, that has meant a steep drop in business.
Despite the setbacks, co-working companies remain optimistic their business model is well positioned in the long term to address the needs of remote workers.
While Wellworth's members have had access to the workspace, which sits on the top floor of the 428 building in downtown St. Paul, the office has been mostly closed. Wellworth plans to reopen Monday at 50% capacity, or about 50 people.
Membership fees, which are mostly paid monthly, have been frozen. Staff has removed some chairs, installed floor decals to signify distancing and put X's on some desks with tape to encourage people to spread out. Visitors will remain limited to the lobby or conference rooms. Rissi and one other manager will handle most of the daily cleaning duties.
"It's going to be a big task, and we are up for it just to get our community back," she said.
Over the past decade, co-working has become a popular workplace option in the Twin Cities and across the country as the acceptance of working in shared space has become more normal. Flexible office space or co-working space allows for short-term memberships where amenities like lounges, conference rooms and kitchen areas as well as often desks are shared among workers.