April 17, 2024

The five-day office work week is dead. Switchyards is creating what’s next. 

Henry Ford popularized the 40-hour work week in the 1920s. Since then, workers have spent most of their waking hours at the office. But now, the predictable split of home versus office is all but obsolete. For the first time in history, over 65 million Americans are working at least partly remote. Work has changed for good.

A 2023 Forbes study found that 62% of companies offered hybrid work options, meaning that US employees now have an average of one to three days per week that are “up for grabs.” Hybrid work presents a win-win for employers and employees—conserving corporate budgets while boosting employee productivity and morale. This new hybrid reality impacts a quarter of all workers, underscoring that the untethering of the office and the consumerization of work are defining opportunities for our generation.

But what about coworking? Coworking companies, like WeWork, serve as office replacements. Located in central business districts, they often require a commute. A 2021 Costar report showed WeWork members had an average commute time of 26 minutes each way. This transit time, plus high monthly fees (WeWork’s “All Access” monthly memberships start at $199-$299/month), means traditional coworking products are not designed to meet members’ needs. Ultimately, coworking was built for businesses, not for consumers. 

Switchyards is reimagining work with consumer preferences in mind, creating members-only work clubs for focused, productive work around others. A recent survey showed that 92% of Switchyards members have never used a traditional coworking product, indicating that this concept is reaching a new audience. They tuck their clubs into residential neighborhoods, stay open 24 hours a day, and offer fast internet and unlimited coffee and tea – all for $100/month. Residential locations mean the average transit time is only nine minutes, and clubs are easily accessible by walking, biking, and other quick modes of transport. 

Founder and CEO Michael Tavani started Switchyards in 2019 with the goal of creating “a place in your neighborhood purpose-built to sit with your laptop, grab a coffee, and get some good work done.” To that end, each club features a bustling coffee shop look and feel, with quiet areas for focused work, and bookable conference rooms and phone booths for meetings. 

The neighborhood work club concept reflects how people work nowadays – partly from home, partly from the office, and now partly from a “third place.” A third place is not your home, but nearby and in your neighborhood. It’s not your office, but offers similar community and socialization. Most importantly, Switchyards’ work clubs offer members a way to get out of the house and work around friends and neighbors. The clubs are built on a chassis of inspiring third places throughout history. “We all know that work is changing – this is a generational consumer shift. For the first time in history, the consumer is choosing how they want to work. So we’re creating spaces for this future of work,” says Tavani.

This innovative business model has seen incredible adoption since its start in 2019. To date, Switchyards has 15 work clubs across Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte. Its four newest clubs have sold out memberships within minutes of going live. By the end of 2024, Switchyards will open 10 more work clubs for a total of 25. The company also plans to quickly grow its marketing and launch teams this year while investing in product innovation to drive further growth. See available jobs here.

With plans to launch work clubs in every residential neighborhood across the country, Switchyards will open 200 new clubs over the next five years.

The $5MM venture capital investment is led by Bullpen Capital, joined by existing investor Cercano, and with participation from Overline.

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