Co-working spaces: Not just for start-up bros anymore

LOS ANGELES - Co-working is often more pleasant these days than putting in eight hours at a traditional office.

If you'd prefer a workspace that looks like a chic hotel lobby with waiters at your service, that can be arranged.

Want to be around other women in a cabana on an outdoor terrace? There's a place in West Hollywood for you.

Is your goal to hang with other creative types? There are co-working clubs that want you as a member.

But while the offices strive to be oases of fellowship, the co-working business is more like a free-for-all.

Co-working offices emerged a decade ago as offbeat, bare-boned affairs that served start-ups and the self-employed of the emerging gig economy. But now their appeal has broadened even to mainstream companies looking for the flexibility to ramp up or wind down operations as quickly as situations demand. Other big tenants just want to avoid the hassle of setting up and maintaining their own offices.

And as co-working has evolved and its appeal has proved more than a fad, a rush