Combatting remote work loneliness with coworking spaces
Apr 18, 2023
5 mins read
Employee Experience
Remote work has afforded employees myriad benefits, from more flexibility in their workday to saving money, and a whole lot more in between. But there will always be downsides to everything, and when it comes to remote work, loneliness has been an emerging theme in recent research. In a survey of U.K. and US remote workers, researchers discovered that “67 percent of workers aged 18-34 found it harder to make friends and maintain relationships with work colleagues in a remote setting, with 71 percent saying they felt their work colleagues had become distant.”
As remote workers ourselves, with an entirely remote workforce, these numbers are not surprising and reflect our own experience, as well as several of our colleagues.
“It was one thing when working from home was a choice. But when the pandemic hit, and we were forced to work remotely for several years, being alone started to get to me.”
During the pandemic, many employees might have enjoyed the break from the office and appreciated the change that “working from home” offered them. However, three years later, the lack of interaction with colleagues has become challenging, especially now that many companies have officially transitioned to a fully remote setting. It’s no longer simply “working at home” with the idea that they will, at some point, be returning to the office. Remote work is an intentional practice, with an employee’s entire work life experienced in their own home.
Thankfully, coworking spaces are available on an on-demand basis, providing remote work and hybrid work employees with several ways to combat their potential loneliness. And, even better, finding and booking them for your staff has gotten easier and more streamlined than ever before. Let’s take a closer look at how coworking spaces can provide the support that remote employees are longing for.
4 ways coworking spaces can combat loneliness
- Coworking spaces support community: Coworking spaces can offer a remote or hybrid employee a sense of community and social interaction that they might be missing from their time in a physical office. Being around other people, particularly other professionals in a similar situation, can provide a sense of connection and belonging, even if the individuals are not actually working together.
- Coworking spaces offer networking opportunities: Quite often, coworking spaces host events, workshops, meet-and-greets, and other activities that provide opportunities for members and on-demand users to network and meet new people. This can help remote and hybrid employees not only expand their work connections, but their social circles, as well, for both professional and personal purposes.
- Coworking spaces inspire collaboration: Companies can utilize coworking spaces for weekly in-person conferences, check-ins, or brainstorming events as a way to inspire team collaboration. Even a short, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly meeting can really help employees feel more connected and engaged with their team. By working together with their peers like they would in an office setting, they’re able to socialize and interact in a healthy way.
- Coworking spaces support shared experiences: One of the reasons working in an office can be a positive opportunity for employees is their ability to connect over a shared experience: work. With on-demand coworking spaces, employees get just that: the shared experience of working in a professional environment, which can help them feel less isolated and more connected to a community.
READ MORE: How to foster in-person collaboration with your remote team
While traditionally, coworking spaces were offered on a membership basis, finding on-demand coworking spaces for daily or weekly work sessions is easier than ever thanks to Flexspace. We help companies drive employee engagement by providing them and their employees with a free on-demand workspace booking platform that allows them to seamlessly book spaces, whether it’s for daily or weekly personal use, or for connecting with other team members or clients within a meeting or conference setting. And, we provide support in coworking space budget management, allowing you to streamline your costs and spend.
Wherever your company is on its remote or hybrid work journey, offering coworking spaces to employees as a means to connect with peers and foster an out-of-office work community can provide huge benefits to their mental health and well-being.
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