In the new world of work, go clubbing

WHEN I walk into One Alfred Place, a new club tucked behind Tottenham Court Road, I suddenly find myself in an alternative world of work. Groups of youngish people are tapping away on their laptops or mobiles while sipping a latte or eating panini. What they all have in common is that they are working - but not in the way we're used to.

A combination of recession and new trends in the workplace have led to an explosion of self-employed freelancers, consultants and liberated wage slaves. I quit my own office job a while back so it intrigues me to see that the downturn is already pushing many more people, who used to spend their days in the office, to do things differently.

One thing is certain about the downturn: thousands more professionals are going to be laid off and have little hope of finding a salaried post for a year or two.

Many will set up on their own - as I have done - "me-lancing" in a range of fields, from journalism to asset management. But how and where will they work? They are unlikely to be able to afford a full-time secretary or rented office. That's why there is such demand for clubs such as One Alfred Place.

For a start, it's decorated in a way that makes the Institute of Directors look like an old frump. One Alfred Place is determinedly a business club. You can have meetings there, use your phone, ask the PAs to book you a restaurant or print out a document, and eat in the restaurant. You can even have a shower or book the bed in the Club Cabin for a kip.

It struck me as being like Soho House or the Groucho without the waiting lists or mobile phone ban. And, inevitably, some people are using it as their home from home - a base in town - or office from office. At £1,500 a year, it's cheaper than renting in the West End.

Another alternative to the full office-and-secretary package is to share either or both of them. My friend Helen Alexander, who recently gave up being chief executive of The Economist, now has a virtual secretary who works for her, about two hours a day, from Kent. "The only thing I can't do," mourns Alexander, "is have packages delivered to her. I haven't cracked that one yet."

Bettina von Hase, owner of NineAM, a creative consultancy, simply rents a couple of desks for herself and her assistant in a large Westbourne Grove office with eight other people, who include a couple of journalists, a lawyer, an architect and a web designer. "Initially it's very scary," she says, "but I would never want to go back now to working in an office for an employer. I would counsel anyone who's lost a job not to sit alone at home."

The era of the "me-lancer" has arrived: now all we need is the virtual office, the virtual PA and a few real life friends to see us through the lean years.