WEWORK Announces the First ‘GLOBAL IMPACT REPORT’ Including Data on SEOUL

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA--(Korea Newswire)--WeWork - the global network of space, community and services - announced today that it released its first-ever Global Impact Report.

WeWork’s Global Impact Report, developed by HR&A Advisors Inc. is an industry-leading economic development and public-policy consulting firm, measures the global data representing WeWork’s positive impact on WeWork members, cities, communities and local economy. HR&A estimated the impact of WeWork as of November 2018, including the City of Seoul.

According to the report, WeWork has more than 400,000 members worldwide and contributed to creating about 680,000 jobs in total, meaning for every WeWork member, another 0.7 jobs is supported across the globe (400,000 WeWork members+280,000 multiplier jobs). Furthermore, it is estimated that WeWork contributed 142 trillion won (US $122.3 billion) to global GDP growth, both directly and indirectly.

The Global Impact Report also includes the data on WeWork’s positive impacts on individuals and businesses across the globe. According to the result, in major cities, WeWork provides flexible, high-quality spaces at a significant cost savings. Globally, it was found that a company of four can save US$24,000 (approximately 35%) on average annually over traditional commercial real estate.

In addition, the report indicates that WeWork helps businesses grow. 54% of members globally credit WeWork with accelerating their company’s growth. The average job growth rate across small and medium-sized WeWork member companies is 22% compared to the 1.7% job growth rate in WeWork markets globally. Moreover, 80% of WeWork members globally report increased productivity since joining WeWork. WeWork’s impact on helping businesses thrive can be seen among enterprise members as well. 49% of enterprise members globally say that WeWork has helped them enter new markets and 78% of enterprise WeWork members say that WeWork has helped them attract and retain talent.

Not only on people and businesses, WeWork’s positive impacts on the environment are proven in the report. According to the report, 1.75 million metric tons of carbon has been saved through commercial construction renovation and more efficient use of space rather than new construction of WeWork spaces. WeWork’s space efficiency resulted in the equivalent of removing 380,000 cars from the road.

For Seoul, Korea, the WeWork economy has an economic multiplier of 1.2 meaning for every WeWork member, another 0.2 job is supported across the city. This means that in Seoul, WeWork was estimated to have contributed in supporting a total of 20,000 jobs, including 16,200 WeWork members and 3,600 additional jobs. Furthermore, WeWork had positive effect on the city as well as the Korean economy by supporting in total of approximately 1.39 trillion won (US$1.2 billion) of the city’s GDP.

In particular, 78% of WeWork members in Seoul said WeWork has a significant impact on business growth of their businesses. This figure is the highest in the survey, hovering far above the global average of 54%. Reflecting this, the average growth rate across small and medium-sized WeWork member companies in Seoul reached 55%.

Moreover, WeWork also brings notable changes to the community where WeWork locations are situated. Of the WeWork members in Seoul who participated in the survey, 74% said they did not work in the neighborhood prior to joining WeWork, while 42% said they visit local neighborhood restaurants, cafes, and businesses daily. Also, 53% of respondents who used to drive by themselves to work have switched to using more sustainable forms of transit (public transit, bike, walk) since joining WeWork.

“As the ‘Global Impact Report’ indicates that WeWork contributes in job creation and the city’s economy along with an active community that helps neighborhoods thrive, we will continue to fully dedicate ourselves to create jobs and revitalize Korea’s ecosystem of local start-ups and businesses, through WeWork’s unique global networks and communities,” said Matthew Shampine, General Manager, Korea at WeWork. “WeWork will keep supporting local companies thrive both in Korea and expand globally, while continue helping to attract foreign direct investment to bring positive economic impact not only to the city of Seoul, but across the nation moving forward.”

“It is very encouraging to see how WeWork is positively contributing to the development of the Seoul city and economy through its first-ever Global Impact Report,” said In-dong Cho, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Seoul Metropolitan Government. “WeWork and the Seoul city co-hosted the Creator Awards Seoul last February and will be opening the second fintech lab in WeWork Yeouido Station in July. We are looking forward to having a more vibrant business environment in the city with WeWork’s support for global opportunities and creating quality jobs,” he added.

WeWork, a global and domestic industry leader in building collaborative communities, has been driving change towards the ‘future of work and cities’ around the world. Since the opening of its first location in Korea, ‘WeWork Gangnam Station’, in August 2016, WeWork Korea has been continuously supporting the growth of the local creator ecosystem through sustained expansion of new locations. As of April 2019, WeWork has opened 15 locations in major landmark buildings in Seoul and Busan. WeWork will continue to expand its powerful creator community through opening WeWork Hongdae, WeWork Sinsa and WeWork Seolleung III in the summer respectively, as well as its second Busan location, WeWork BIFC, in the 3rd quarter.

Meanwhile, WeWork partnered with HR&A Advisors, an industry-leading real estate and economic consulting firm, to develop the first-ever detailed analysis of WeWork’s global impact. HR&A also leveraged external databases including Oxford Economics, EMSI, the U.S. Census, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the World Bank, the International Labor Organization, as well as external reports from CBRE and Kaufman Foundation. For more information on the Global Impact Report, please visit https://impact.wework.com/.

*exchange rate: based on the exchange rate around 10 am, May 2nd, year 2019

About WeWork

WeWork is a global platform that provides space, community, and services to over 400,000 members around the world through both physical and virtual offerings. WeWork currently has 425 physical locations in 100 cities and 27 countries around the world. More than 45,000 companies and more than 400,000 members are now based at a WeWork, with member companies ranging from start-ups to household names including Microsoft, Standard Chartered, GE, Liberty Mutual, UBS, Sprint and Glassdoor etc. 32% of WeWork members are enterprise companies. More than 70% of WeWork’s members collaborate with each other and its international locations serve as convenient bases for business travel, enabling a great degree of work flexibility for both multinationals and small-to-medium-sized businesses alike, as well as options for easy expansion into new markets. For more information, visit:wework.com

Website: http://www.wework.com

View Korean version of this release

This is a news release distributed by Korea Newswire on behalf of this company.