Published on May 14, 2025
Many of us remember, perhaps not too fondly, being plunged into the deep end of work-from-home in the early days of the pandemic. Trading our professionally sanitized office life for makeshift desks hobbled together in living rooms, basements or closets — wherever we could find a free space. And yet, as we settled into this chaotic new normal, there were surprising benefits to be found.
Giving up our office also meant giving up our commute. Instead of traffic and crowded transit systems, we were able to invest that extra time into our families or personal mental and physical health. Remote meetings provided the opportunity to take long walks or catch up on household chores at the same time. There’s no doubt that work-from-home has led to a more balanced and fulfilling lifestyle.
The flip side of that, however, has been workers feeling more isolated and disconnected from their teams and the organization as a whole. The loss of regular, in-person spaces for collaboration or just spontaneous conversation has eroded trust and made it harder to build relationships and share ideas. And while many workers initially discovered a renewed sense of work-life balance while working from home, others found it near impossible to maintain healthy boundaries between the two.
With most companies falling on one side or the other of this tension, it seems as though workers are being forced to pick one or the other, sacrificing some valuable slice of wellbeing in the process. But what if you don’t have to fully choose one option? What if there were an option that could offer the benefits of both WFH and RTO?
As it turns out, coworking spaces might be the perfect fit, giving you or your team both the flexibility of remote work with the collaborative potential of the office and providing a surprising amount of wellbeing benefits in the process.
Here are five ways coworking spaces can have a positive impact on your wellbeing.
(1) Coworking spaces offer a flexible work environment. The best part of WFH was having more freedom with your time. Most coworking spaces offer a variety of packages, allowing you to choose one that can give you that some sort of flexibility. Instead of having to be in the office every day, you can rent desk space only on the days you need it. This can be a great way to achieve a healthy work-life balance that works for you and your family.
Even better, many coworking spaces are in convenient locations, enabling a reduced or easier commute for even greater flexibility. When choosing a coworking space, consider finding one that can turn the commute into a health benefit itself through accessible, active transportation methods. This is a great way to sneak some exercise into your day.
(2) Coworking spaces help us connect with other people. There’s no doubt, isolation can be the hardest part of remote work. There’s just something special about ad hoc chats with coworkers that go a long way to feeling more connected to them. Let’s be honest, making friends as an adult is hard; and coworking spaces can provide that sort of regular, loosely structured connection with other humans that we all need.
An added bonus with coworking spaces is that they connect you to people both inside and outside your own organization. Professional networking is one of the most effective ways to find future work and you just never know when you might need that.
(3) Coworking spaces can help you use your time better by offering diverse spaces to work in. It can be tricky sometimes to try and do meetings, email catchup and deep creative work all from the same desk. Our brains benefit from associating the type of work we are trying to do with the space we are doing it in. This is why it can sometimes seem so productive when we work from a coffee shop or library. The change helps us focus.
Many coworking spaces offer their members a variety of desks and meetings rooms that can help achieve this sort of approach to focus. They can also be a cost-effective way for remote teams to offer collaborate meeting spaces for meetings.
(4) Coworking spaces can give us a wider community beyond our work. Many coworking spaces host events, meetups and other opportunities to connect with people and try out new things. Cooking classes, yoga, boardgame nights and book clubs—we all need to get involved in things that go beyond the daily grind. These are the sort of community building activities that give people a real sense of belonging.
Work takes a lot of our time, and it can be hard to find the energy to do new things. Coworking spaces can help make that a lot easier by bringing some of those new things to you.
(5) Coworking spaces offer perks that boost our mood and make us feel better. Coworking spaces are all about the amenities that help facilitate happier and healthier lifestyles. And while fitness facilities and meditation zones may be nice, it’s hard to beat regular access to nature when it comes to overall mental and physical wellbeing.
This is why Evergreen’s new coworking space at the Brick Works provides a unique advantage that few other options can match: a prime location in the heart of the city, while surrounded by the serene beauty of Toronto’s urban ravine system.
From morning coffee breaks to team huddles, make your work week feel a little bit more like the weekend at Evergreen Brick Works.
