Article

The Commons Calgary

6 December 2018

Imagine a space where work and play can collide, and that wellness and community can thrive within a culture that caters to all the cornerstones of the modern entrepreneur’s daily life: to share a productive workspace, cultivate new skills, succeed professionally and to celebrate with friends.

This is The Commons Lifestyle Collective.

Somewhere in-between business and pleasure, a lifestyle collective is a culture centred on connecting, collaborating and entertaining. It’s about uniting work-life balance with a space that can cater to our members’ personal and professional ambitions, and a thriving community of like-minded people passionate about bringing extraordinary ideas to life.

The Commons is a boutique co-work, meeting & event space where some of Calgary’s most talented and up-and-coming entrepreneurs, businesses and innovators meet, connect and collaborate.

Located at 1206 20 Avenue SE in Calgary, The Commons is a stone’s throw away from Calgary’s iconic Inglewood community, and is nestled along the historic Alyth locomotive crossing as part of The Ramsay Design Centre.

Vibrant Communities Calgary was first introduced to The Commons when they applied for REAP’s 2018 Empowering Employees Leader Award.

REAP stands for Respect for the Earth and All People. REAP is a not-for-profit association for locally owned businesses that care about the community and the environment.

REAP’s Annual Be Local Awards program is delivered in partnership with First Calgary Financial and recognizes excellence in our local economy by sharing the stories of the incredible work many companies and organizations are doing to support people and planet. Each year six leadership awards are presented.

The Empowering Employees Leader Award is presented by Vibrant Communities Calgary to a REAP member that is affecting meaningful and sustainable progress towards reducing poverty through employee-centred practices that build resilience. These may include but are not limited to paying a living wage, providing additional forms of compensation, financial literacy and employee wellness programs.

The decision to select an award recipient was no easy task and although The Commons was not selected as the award-winning recipient in 2018, we applaud and recognize their efforts of doing business differently.

The Commons views each of their employees as one of a kind. Working for entrepreneurs is profoundly different from working a corporate, downtown office job. They pour their whole heart into the work they do, wear many hats throughout the day and truly understand what it means to work in an everchanging environment. Paying a Living Wage is important to them and it didn’t occur to them to pay any less and, as their business grows, it is their intention to pay more.

By paying a living wage, The Commons is taking steps to reduce poverty by preventing their staff from falling into poverty.

View their application and visit their website.

Learn more about REAP and the Empowering Employees Leader Award.

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