How flexible workspaces support work-life balance
Flexible workspaces have become ever more popular over the last few years; in fact, London has over 1400 coworking locations alone, making it the city with the most coworking offices globally. These office spaces are far from the rigid nature of traditional office spaces, with different packages available for those ranging from individuals looking for a proper desk during the day, to a small business which needs its own dedicated space.
One benefit of flexible workspaces that is often overlooked are how they can positively impact your work-life balance. How can they do this?
Why having a good work-life balance is important
For those who fail to maintain an adequate work-life balance, the risks can be larger than you may expect. This mainly comes in the form of burnout. Burnout can have far reaching consequences on your mental wellbeing, but it can also take its toll on your physical health. Concerningly, 77% of employees admit to having experienced burnout at some point in their current job.
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As stress continues, you begin to lose interest and motivation. Burnout reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.
Work-related factors can contribute significantly to burnout, especially if you have a high workload, little control over your work, or a lack of recognition for it. Your work atmosphere, commute, quality of office facilities, and desk space can also be large contributors to burnout.
What can you do to prevent burnout?
There are a number of steps that can be taken to manage burnout. Recognising the early signs of stress is crucial; this can include symptoms like headaches, muscle tension, or an upset stomach.
Setting clear personal boundaries – and sticking to them – is another important step, by managing workloads, and taking regular breaks during the day. Ensure that those around you, such as those who provide you with work, are aware of this and do not be afraid to challenge them if you believe you are being overworked.
Outside of work, self-care practices such as regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating can have a huge effect; it sounds like we are stating the obvious (and we are) but it’s sometimes easier said than done!
How can flexible workspaces improve your work-life balance?
Flexible office spaces offer a unique environment that blends the functionality of a traditional office with the flexibility of remote work as well as other benefits, which can significantly enhance work-life balance. These shared offices provide a dedicated workspace away from home, which is crucial considering that working from home isn’t always ideal for productivity.
With amenities like high-speed internet, meeting rooms, ergonomic furniture, communal areas, free tea/coffee (and beer?), they also deliver a more comfortable office environment that traditional office spaces rarely provide. These are all factors that can go a long way to reducing burnout. The inherent flexibility of coworking spaces allows professionals to create a work schedule that fits their personal life, enabling them to attend to family needs or personal errands during the day, helping to improve work-life balance.
Additionally, since coworking spaces are full of like-minded professionals, there are plenty of networking opportunities. This may come in the form of casual conversation in any of the communal areas, or at dedicated networking events held by those who run the office space (we do this at Venture X!).
So that’s how flexible workspaces can improve your work-life balance! We can even offer our services as a virtual office if you’d still prefer to work from home, more about which can be read here. So what are you waiting for? To find out more and start the process to transform your work life for the better, book a consultation today!