Working from shopping malls in Hong Kong
(The Chinese version of this article is first published in January 2022 in Patreon)
With the surging Omicron cases in Hong Kong, government is advising companies from private sectors to adopt the work-from-home policy but insists on not implementing the policy with civil servants, to avoid disruption of services to the general public.
Meanwhile, some companies have seen this as an opportunity and are now collaborating with real estate company The Link in Hong Kong for setting up mobile working kiosks in shopping malls.
The first company we are talking about today is Switch, a company with a mysterious background.
From its website, the company states that the team behind the company including the ex-members from WeWork China and has offices located in Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei. The source of funding includes four major real estate companies in Asia but the names are not available on the website.
However, the collaboration between Switch and The Link is reported by pro-Beijing news outlet Wenweipo, and thus the background of the company should be quite obvious.
Switch has set up both offices and kiosks in Hong Kong. For those kiosks that are located in the shopping malls under The Link, they consist of 2-person kiosks and 4-person kiosks.
These kiosks are currently available in twelve selected malls like Tsz Wan Shan Shopping Centre, Lok Fu Place and Tung Chung vice versa.
For the kiosks in Lok Fu Place, they are located in 2/F of Zone A and in Zone B next to the exit to Junction Road.
What the kiosks could provide? The facilities include a table, free Wi-Fi network, electric sockets and Bluetooth speakers, however printers and scanners are not available.
Though paperless policy has been adopted across many workplaces, if printers are not readily available in these kiosks, there would not be much differences between the kiosks and various coffee shops.
Another problem with these kiosks is that many people would try to observe what people are doing inside. Though certain parts of the kiosks are blurred by decorative stickers, still they are not as private as a workplace should be, if these kiosks are served as a location for working privately or for virtual meetings.
With regards to the charges, Switch is now charging users with a hourly fee of around HKD$30 for a 2-person kiosk, while a 4-person kiosk is charging around HKD$60.
The second company that collaborated with The Link is theDesk. The co-founder of theDesk told the media that he is born locally but agrees that the co-working spaces would thrive in the Greater Bay Area.
theDesk2Go, the kiosks operated by theDesk, are available in seven malls including Tai Kok Tsui, Tin Shui Wai and Tsing Yi. These locations do not overlap with the ones operated by Switch.
For theDesk2Go, the capacity of the kiosks could only accommodate the use of a single user. The charges of the kiosks are aligned to HKD$20 per half hour.
Similar to Switch, reservations must be done through the mobile app. A QR code would be generated after the transaction is successful.
Here is how a typical kiosk looks like. The facilities from theDesk2Go include free access to WiFi network and electric sockets. The privacy of these kiosks is also much better, thanks to the larger decorative sticker on the front door. Sound insulation of the kiosk is also satisfying.
However, when the reservation time is up, there is no notification to tell the user to go, nor the door of the kiosk unlocks automatically.
Hygiene may be a main factor in considering the use of these kiosks as well. For theDesk2Go, kiosks would be throughly cleaned three times a day according to the notice. It is believed that The Link would be responsible for the job.
LeaveHomeSafe QR code could not be seen at both Switch and theDesk2Go kiosks.
The Link has not disclosed whether to divide the earnings of the kiosks with the operators or just rent out spaces and receive basic rents as a landlord.
Compared to those mobile karaoke rooms in the past, mobile working kiosks may not be as popular as they seem. Also, whether there are enough equipments to safeguard the safety of the users when there is a fire emergency, remain questionable.
