'schongenial': How Nikolaus Dürk Invented the Future of Work
Marlene Holzapfel | 23.10.2025
'schongenial' has written an great arcticle about "How Nikolaus Dürk invented the future of work" and wrote: "Together instead of alone. Shared offices and desk sharing are tried and tested models of modern working today. They promote dialogue, creativity and cooperation - and it's hard to imagine the working world without them. But 25 years ago, this was still unthinkable."
Furthermore, the article mentions that 'at a time when home office was a foreign concept and work was almost always associated with fixed premises and clear structures, Nikolaus Dürk, founder and Managing Director of X-Net, took a radical step. He founded a shared office long before the word coworking even existed.
We spoke to him about the beginnings, challenges and the importance of shared workspaces.'
#schongenial: How did you come up with the idea back then and what were your motives?
Nikolaus Dürk: It was the advent of ISDN-complete, when a friend and I were sitting at home with our work over a period of two years. The ceiling literally fell on our heads and we met regularly at Café Meier just to see people again and not sit in front of a screen all the time. I read in the newspaper 'Die Zeit' about shared offices in New York and Hamburg where old spaces were being converted into shared offices. So we thought to ourselves at Café Meier: why not do the same in Linz? The idea was born while waiting to pay. And a company along with it.
The entire interview with schongenial and Nikolaus Dürk can be read at schongenial.at. Thank you very much for this great article! We are delighted to be part of your brilliant initiative.
schongenial is the first initiative for intercorporate social responsibility and offers a space for companies from a wide range of industries to network and be part of a joint cross-company project. schongenial stands for greater appreciation, making positivity visible, and a successful society.