v-Fluence Blog

Jelly’n: Office environment “when needed”

Christiana and Allyson at Jelly

Within seconds of our destination somewhere in the garment district of Manhattan, Christiana and I turn to each other for a final, silent (and hesitant) agreement to continue forward. We ring the bell for the fourth floor, climb aboard the steel elevator and begin to bicker about who's going to make the introduction. Ten seconds later the elevator door opens to a bright apartment living room filled with young men standing talking or huddled over laptops. Welcome to Jelly!

Yes, Jelly. It's an odd name, but memorable-one apparently that came to the creators of this telecommuting social group, Amit and Luke, while sitting in their Manhattan living room in front of a bowl of Jelly Bellys.

Anyway, who wants to leave the tranquility of their home office or the familiarity of Starbucks to brave a first entrance into a group of Internet and freelance workers called "e-coworking," "Work 2.0" or something equally geeky? Not me. But I voted go when Christiana, my coworker and friend, proposed an investigative visit to Jelly on my most recent trip to New York City.

Amit and Luke created this recently hyped "casual coworking" group because, as they describe the genesis on their site, they "loved working from home, but…missed the creative brainstorming, sharing, and camaraderie of a traditional office."

Many of us at v-Fluence share this sentiment and it drives our occasional ventures to one another's apartments/houses, or the more social environment a Starbucks offers, to share work time and some friendly company. To fill this need, the company leases office space in New York and Chicago and (coming soon!) St. Louis.

v-Fluence's office environment "when needed" policy is ideal to me, and I would guess, it's part of the appeal for many of those who show up for Jelly's twice-monthly gatherings. Granted, even with a headset, some might not have the capacity to complete seriously demanding work while sitting on a futon with four other teleworkers/freelancers/tea sommeliers discussing the latest development on their Web site (or, equally possible, the newest up-and-coming restaurant in Brooklyn). However, it's certainly a nice break from several hours of intense one-on-one with your laptop, and even better, an opportunity to learn and network with others who may work in a variety of fields.

Additionally, because Jelly (and other similar coworking groups) is open to anyone willing and able to attend, the monotony often associated with the traditional office is eliminated. In this "non-office" office space, there are always new faces, there is no dress code, and, most importantly, there's never an obligation to come. Frankly, I equate it to the library at college-that study space where you could go curl up on one of the comfy couches on the basement level and cram for your European History exam, knowing full well, and likely anticipating, that a bi-hourly snack/bathroom/coffee break on the first floor, where you could count on some much-needed socializing, was imminent.

Indeed, like the library or an office, these gatherings of telecommuters have rules that, while not outwardly stated, should be respected when attending: no loud conversation when others are obviously trying to concentrate; no sharing work; no mess-making. On our latest visit, Christiana and I deviated a bit from this last rule to hold our v-Fluence-sponsored holiday party (see photo). I think, however, our office-like holiday party was appreciated by all-even the dog!-especially given its lack of tension regarding holiday work schedules and questions about who got the biggest bonus.

Notably, Jelly has now expanded to cities across the U.S. and as far as Perth, Australia and New Delhi, India. No signs of a froggy office yet, but I have my hopes up for my next trip to Paris.

Find out more about Jelly by watching this video.

Share this post: