You're not alone

COMMUNITY: Many people these days take advantage of technology to work from home. This can be the ideal solution, especially for those with young families or long commutes to their workplace. But working at home can be lonely, which is why the concept of co-working is gaining popularity.

Co-working refers to the practice of renting office space that is shared with other independent workers. Co-workers come and go as they please, with no one controlling the number of hours they work. They pay a fee for using the space, which varies according to the amount of time they spend in the shared offices.

New Work City in Manhattan is one such co-working community. Tony Bacigalupo, who calls himself the "mayor" of New Work City, says an increasing number of people are working independently. “The same way that [during] the last century work shifted from blue collar to white collar, I think we’ll be seeing this century we’re going to be moving away from the idea of a centralized Monday-to-Friday, nine-to-five workplace, and we’ll be moving much more in this direction,” Bacigalupo told National Public Radio. “People will work when they want, where they want.”

"People will work when they want, where they want," says Tony Bacigalupo of New Work City.

According to Emergent Research , the co-working phenomenon has grown during the recession. The California-based organization says that public libraries are also offering business services and conference facilities.

Of course, cities like New York or Los Angeles provide the ideal environment for co-working. But the trend is also being seen in smaller communities. Multinational office-furniture manufacturer Steelcase , for example, sponsors a co-working cottage in East Grand Rapids, Michigan (population 11,000).

Kevin Prentiss, who runs his own internet business, says he enjoys the camaraderie of co-working. He used to work 14-hour days, by himself, in his New York apartment. Now he is a regular New Work City, and has even hired people he met there. “There’s not any kind of jockeying or power-play politics,” Prentiss says of the atmosphere. “So I definitely think it’s much of the good and none of the bad. No one is competing here.”