Worklife | Coworking & Shared Office Space on the South Coast

There had to be a better way to juggle work and life…

Deciding there had to be a better way to support the juggle work and life, she created the solution she craved for her own life and founded WorkLife- the South Coasts first coworking space in 2017.

Kate has a background in the arts, events, sponsorship and advocacy and figured that, coupled with her husbands skills as an award winning builder, if anyone could make a go of a network of regional coworking spaces, it should be her.

In 2018 with the original WorkLife Berry site nearing capacity, Kate and her team turned their attentions to the stunning seaside town of Kiama and established WorkLife Kiama in a double-sized space in 2019.

Emboldened by a COVID induced flight from the city, coupled with the work from home revolution, the team expanded their operations with a premium new offering in Coledale, in the heart of the thriving northern suburbs of Wollongong that opened at the end of 2021.

Sadly, WorkLife’s tricky middle child at Kiama struggled to survive the twin disruptions of COVID and a major multi-year construction site kicking off next door, and in early 2022 Kiama WorkLife had to close it’s doors on it’s temporary home.

With Kiama’s members now travelling south to Berry and the mass exodus of professionals leaving the city to live out their tree change fantasies continuing, the pressure was back on WorkLife Berry to expand to meet the growing demand. With the opportunity of an adjacent site becoming available with an existing liquor license, the team expanded the precinct in Berry to include office suites and a week-end only bar- SocialLife.

The vision for the business is now to provide for all of our members entree to the best of local living in all the communities we operate in- WorkLife for work, SocialLife for hospitality and CommunityLife for events.

Vision

To create a network of beautiful and efficient workspaces for clever, generous and creative professionals on the South Coast.

Mission

So that people are inspired to escape the grind of the city, better balance life and work in thriving regional towns.

Our team

At WorkLife, our team, like you, are clever, creative, connected, professionals who have chosen to prioritise life and community. We live our values and honour the Work/Life promise. We can’t wait to support you to honour yours.

Kate

Kate has had a career in business development for festivals, events, arts organisations and NFP’s. Most recently with the Foundation of Rural & Regional Renewal, TEDxSydney, The Chaser Lecture and StartupAUS. She is an experienced Director who was on the board until recently of The National Trust (NSW) for 6 years and Underbelly Arts for 5. She moved to Berry from Alexandria with her husband Jacques of J2Build and their 3 kids 9 years ago and has been figuring out how to make her WorkLife work for her ever since.

Jess

Jess has been very fortunate to have grown up all over the place and has now settled in Kiama with her partner Zac. Jess recently graduated from the University of Wollongong, with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Journalism and Photography. She loves spending her time discovering new places to eat and learning more about the food and wine industry. She is continuously learning how to create a work life balance from those around her, as she manages SocialLife & works as a Community Manager at WorkLife across all sites.

Brenna

Brenna is an Illustrator and Graphic Designer that made her sea-change dreams come true in 2020. Relocating from Melbourne to her partner Tom’s home town of Kiama she left behind a dream job as a designer in the music industry and took the plunge of starting her own design business, Summer Lands Studio. It’s here that she gets to put into practice her love for innovative thinking, purpose-based design and community connection. When she’s not designing up a storm you’ll find her down at the local farmer’s market or sneaking in an arvo dip at the Kiama Rockpool.

Lisa

Lisa has lived in the beautiful town of Picton for over 25 years and loves the place and the people. She has most recently worked for a Wollondilly based NFP for 7 years and is passionate about giving back to her community.

Lisa recognises that life is a juggling act and getting the balance right is a challenge. Thats why she is happy to be part of the WorkLife family where she is able to work locally as a Community Manager and also concentrate on her creativity, family, and doing the things she loves with friends.

Rachel

After completing her Bachelor of Early Childhood and teaching for 10 years Rachel stepped away from caring for other people’s children to focus on her own and developing her business making and baking Coeliac friendly treats for The GFCookie. Being lucky enough to have grown up, work and now live in the Wollondilly with her family. Rachel along with her husband now raise their 3 kiddos with a similar, simple childhood in mind. One close to nature with access to almost everything nearby. Rachel is so happy to be about in her community with the Picton WorkLife team.

Zar

Zar moved from the UK in 1999 and quickly confirmed that her birth had been a geographical mistake. She spent the next many happy years living in Sydney and passionately working in hospitality.

In 2006 she opened ZarBar, a little hole in the wall in Crows Nest and quickly fell for the community that developed around it.

In 2018, she made the move to the Shoalhaven having loved the area after visiting years before. Zar works full time as barista at Bangalay Dining and assists with the admin and bookkeeping at WorkLife.

Elle McNeill

Elle is a designer-maker who grew up in Wollongong and, after 5 years living overseas in Glasgow and London, has returned to this beautiful part of the world to work, surf, explore and create. She studied design at UNSWAD (COFA) and now works at UOW, runs her own business and manages the creative events at WorkLife. Her study and work has taken her all over the world and allowed her to work in the sustainability, food systems, and events industries. She loves being part of this thriving creative community and to grow the incredible creative network that surrounds WorkLife through the markets and other events and opportunities we offer.