With excellent rates on payroll and health- insurance services, stylish interiors, and bento box lunches, New York–based WeWork is fast becoming the dream office environment for those not particularly inclined to office environments, including freelancers, start-ups, and small businesses. Chief administrative officer Ariel Tiger, ’10, oversees financial and legal matters, culture, and community growth for the company, which has 48 coworking spaces in 16 cities worldwide. Tiger’s day is a flurry of activity capped off by brainstorming with colleagues late into the night. He takes us through a typical Monday.
6:30 a.m. Wake up and spend time feeding and playing with my 18-month-old son, Jonathan. There is nothing better than early morning father-son quality time.
7:30 a.m. Check news, stocks, and, of course, my email. WeWork has operations around the globe and is expanding further internationally, so the company never sleeps.
8:40 a.m. Walk to our new HQ. We moved from the financial district to Chelsea because we outgrew our offices when our team doubled in size in the first half of 2015.
9 a.m. Get up to date with my team, review budgets, and draft proposals. If I’m not traveling, my day is usually back-to-back meetings. Luckily, 10 years as a lieutenant commander in the Israeli Navy gave me plenty of management practice.
11 a.m. Enjoy a green-tea break in the kitchen. There’s always someone to chat with.
12 p.m. Meet with a large firm considering becoming a member. I regularly speak with leaders of big companies who have heard we suit small businesses and freelancers but want to know if WeWork can accommodate their needs as well. We offer spaces to companies of every size as long as the company and its employees are interested in being part of a community.
1 p.m. Lunch! It’s usually a working lunch. I’m trying to eat clean—WeWork doesn’t make it easy, since delicious treats are up for grabs every day—so I have a salad. And I never thought I’d be a cleanse kind of guy, but an investor recently convinced me to do the Clean Program cleanse. Now I’m trying to convert my staff.
2 p.m. Sit down with the COO and VP of operations to go over business items.
3 p.m. Take a midafternoon break by walking to another WeWork location. We have 17 spaces in New York, and I try to check them out whenever I find the time. I love seeing the community in action. Since each location has its own style, a visit breaks up the day, adds a change of scenery, and provides some light exercise.
4:30 p.m. Attend the weekly budget meeting with our development team, where we review our initiatives all over the world.
6 p.m. Eat dinner. Every Monday night the whole NYC team gathers at headquarters in the evening for a meal and a virtual meeting with employees around the world. It keeps us connected. My coworkers order deep-fried mac and cheese. I eat a salad (sigh).
8 p.m. Stick around for my final meeting of the day. Then I usually grab an Uber and arrive home by 10, but on Mondays the CEO leads our executive team in an after-dinner brainstorming session. This can go for hours, though the time flies by.
12 a.m. Settle in at home, check in on my sleeping son, and chat with my wife about her day. She’s general counsel for the Israeli Ministry of Finance’s Economic Mission to the United States, so we’re both busy people.
12:45 a.m. Go to bed. That is, unless baby Jonathan has plans other than sleeping.
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