In the UK, for example, research from the New Economics Foundation estimated that 1.2 million people suffer from chronic loneliness, costing employers £2.5 billion a year due to the impact of loneliness on health, productivity and increased staff turnover.

While we often focus on our personal relationships with friends & loved ones, we often fall short of realising how important the person down the corridor or in the office next door at work is. Focusing on growing our business networks rather than nurturing the relationships with the colleagues we already have & growing our impact and reach organically. Meaningful interaction is so important – without it there will be an impact on your physical & emotional wellbeing, which in turn impacts on the productivity of your business.

As freelancers, entrepreneurs, remote workers, many work alone at home or on the road.

Not to make this too depressing, but it’s a rather lonely existence. Maybe you can relate. We know plenty of tech entrepreneurs who got started by coding alone–for hours on end–in their own homes. Trends would suggest that many employees are also working alone part of the week from home, as telecommuting is so easy now and with faster broadband speeds, videoconferencing & the desire to save on the petrol fumes this is a growing statistic. Some of us are more productive working solo but some are certainly not. With loneliness also comes distraction & the risk of becoming stunted in creativity & productivity.

More benefits of flexspaces:

Flexible workspaces (often now referred to as ‘flexspace’) are becoming more and popular and can offer multiple benefits to our welfare:

• Balance of convenience, structure and community which in turn lead to improved productivity and happiness.
• Multiple locations are now popping up all over and no longer just in cities but more regional hubs in the suburbs and even rural areas enabling less commuting and better time productivity
• Often various spaces for diverse industry sectors enabling shared networks, contacts as well as shared knowledge and interests
• Believe it or not many coworking members are introverts and often they thrive in these workspaces which offer various working environments from quiet pods, private office spaces to communal areas and on-site cafes for when you fancy being a little more chatty and collaborative.
• The connectivity and infrastructure is generally far better than at home enabling you to have more productive online calls and meeting, online training etc. So you can work in a professional yet relaxed environment meaning that there is a space for you to feel comfortable whatever your mood or business projects needs.

Here is some further reading on how these workspaces can help you to be the best you:

How coworking works to combat loneliness

How flexible workspace can tackle loneliness in the office