Show your members how much you care: promoting wellbeing in your coworking or flex workspace

While many of us are now returning to offices, widespread working from home over the past couple of years has marked a significant shift in working culture. This shift to remote working certainly does come with its pros: greater autonomy, the freedom to work in an environment completely divorced from office politics and increased flexibility to name but a few. For some, it also means greater productivity and saving on commuting costs as well

Nevertheless, remote working also comes with its cons, such as missing out on office culture and team-building exercises; with isolation and loneliness being also on the rise. It is recorded that in the UK 5% of adults feel lonely ‘often’ or ‘always’. Approximately 9 million adults suffer from loneliness to some degree. Undoubtedly this surge in the feeling of loneliness and isolation has wormed its way into the working world as well. Loneliness has a significant effect on work output, limiting performance and creativity and impairing reasoning and decision making. Humans are by nature social animals; regardless of our technological advances, the key function of humanity is social interaction one way or the other, isolation is mental health and social problem, which should not be taken lightly.

So, in what ways can coworking and flex space operators implement subtle changes to their spaces in a bid to alleviate the mental health struggles of their users? In the words of Alex Hillman “coworking is not a workspace industry, it’s a happiness industry”. Coworking spaces offer brilliant infrastructure for technology and business, with a healthy exposure to diverse members, from a wide variety of both social and professional backgrounds. 

So, let’s look at some ways workspace operators can promote mental wellbeing in their coworking spaces.

Invest in your environment

A good start is making sure the working environment you provide is not working against the mental wellbeing of your members. Think about the different areas of your workspace and how you can infuse them with some character. One easy way to create a more relaxing environment is through plants and greenery. Plants are known to have an amazing impact on reducing stress, anxiety as well as boosting creativity. Their presence has been known to aid productivity, with the bonus of making your workspace beautiful.

Workspace humidifiers could also be worth an investment. Many studies have shown they can massively improve productivity and reduce absenteeism while simultaneously providing a pleasant aroma too. 

You could also consider adding some artwork in your coworking space to inspire creative potential and innovative ideas. Artwork has been found to help reduce stress levels and aid relaxation.

Personalised programs and creating events for your members

It can be difficult for coworking and flex space operators to identify the types of events that best suit their members (you could always use Nexudus Surveys to find out). Get to know your members, get to know their niche, and you will be able to personalise events around their preferences.

For example, if your membership skews to the more creative type, you could look into coordinating events such as spoken words evening, which promote self-expression and is also a great form of entertainment. 

Yoga classes also provide positive mental health benefits, improving mood, mindfulness and behaviour whilst developing workplace wellness. If possible, you could even consider offering subsidised gym membership for your community, as exercise is known to be massively beneficial in terms of mental health as wellbeing as well as the obvious physical health benefits. 

Promote healthy eating

Ensuring healthy food options are available in your workspace, or having fruit readily available to your members, can be great in improving health and wellbeing. The positive effects of healthy eating are no big secret, and the effects will impact not only your customer’s wellbeing at work but their happiness and physical health too. 

Furthermore, it shows that you care about your members and are willing to go the extra mile for them. A workplace that encourages general health and is willing to invest in its users can help with membership retention as well, as it’s a way of showing your members how much you care about them

With a growing appreciation for the importance of health and wellbeing, it is increasingly becoming a standard expectation for workspaces to provide support in these areas. We hope these few tips can inspire you to make small changes o your workspace that can massively benefit the daily lives of your users. 

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