Confess, We’ve All Committed At least One…
Coworking is a beautiful thing. Fast Wi-Fi, good coffee, actual humans to talk to, and none of the existential loneliness of working from your kitchen table. But every paradise has its serpents — and every coworking space has its sinners.
Here at Centro House Marbella, we’ve seen it all. So, consider this your friendly guide to the seven deadly sins of shared workspaces. Read it, laugh, and then quietly ask yourself: which one am I?
1. Wrath — The Loud Caller
You know them. Everyone knows them. They’re on their third “quick call” of the morning, pacing the room like a TED speaker, projecting to the back row of an auditorium that doesn’t exist.
Here’s the thing: nobody needs to hear your quarterly numbers, your negotiation tactics, or your opinion of Steve from accounts. That’s what phone booths and meeting rooms are for. Use them. Your neighbours’ noise-cancelling headphones can only do so much.
Penance: Book a meeting room for calls longer than two minutes. Your fellow coworkers will silently bless you.
2. Greed — The Desk Hoarder
One laptop. One monitor. One notebook, three chargers, a water bottle, a protein shaker, a scented candle (why?), and a jacket draped over the next chair “for a friend” who never arrives.
A hotdesk is a desk, singular. Not a territory. Not an empire. If your setup needs planning permission, it might be time to talk to us about a private office.
Penance: One desk, one human. Expand your business, not your footprint.
3. Sloth — The Ghost of Bookings Past
They booked the meeting room from 10 to 11. It is now 11:20 and they’re still in there, “just wrapping up,” while the next group hovers awkwardly outside the glass like seagulls eyeing a chiringuito table.
Meeting rooms run on trust and calendars. Respect both.
Penance: End on time. If you always run over, book the longer slot. Revolutionary, we know.
4. Gluttony — The Fridge Thief
There is a special place reserved for people who eat food that isn’t theirs. That oat milk had a name on it. That tupperware of last night’s paella was somebody’s whole afternoon mood.
The communal fridge is a sacred trust. Violate it and you will never be caught — but you will be suspected, and that’s worse.
Penance: Label your food, respect the labels of others, and if you finish the coffee… make more. This is the oldest law of coworking.
5. Envy — The Seat Snob
They arrive, scan the room, and sigh — because their spot is taken. The one by the window. The one with the good light. They spend the next twenty minutes glaring at the innocent person sitting there, radiating passive aggression strong enough to disrupt the wifi.
It’s a hotdesk, friend. The clue is in the name.
Penance: Arrive earlier or learn to love a new view. (Honestly, in Marbella, there isn’t a bad one.)
6. Pride — The Humble-Bragger
“Sorry, I’m just SO slammed — we just closed our second round of funding.” Nobody asked, Javier. We were just waiting for the microwave.
We love ambition. We love success stories. But the kitchen queue is not your investor pitch.
Penance: Save it for community events, where we’ll genuinely want to hear it — and probably toast to it.
7. Lust — The Aircon Adjuster
Perhaps the most dangerous sinner of all: the one who craves the thermostat. Everyone else has reached a fragile ceasefire at 23 degrees, and then this person strolls past and cranks it like they’re cryogenically freezing themselves for the future.
Coworking climate control is diplomacy. One-degree moves only. Consult your neighbours. This is how wars start.
Penance: Bring a light jumper. It solves everything.
Absolution Awaits
The good news? Every sinner can be redeemed — usually with nothing more than a bit of awareness and the occasional round of coffees.
And if you’ve read this far nodding along (or wincing), you clearly know your way around a coworking space. If you haven’t found your workspace-with-actual-humans yet, come and sin responsibly with us at Centro House Marbella. Grab a day pass, try a hotdesk, and see what working in good company feels like.
Just… bring your own oat milk.