Workplaces Take a More Critical Approach to Building Community

The average worker today is becoming increasingly frustrated with the modern job market. Work-life balance has become a hot term as people are starting to openly resent where they work. The reasons behind this are complex, people cite low wages, minimal benefits, unreasonable expectations, and many job-specific issues. What this has resulted in is a time with a real lack of employee pride and satisfaction.

This makes certain employers attempt to build a “work family” or other tight communities feel insincere and forced. The last thing employees want today is to spend more time at work in team-building exercises and activities. However, this isn’t to say that employees aren’t looking to make genuine connections with their coworkers. The majority of adult Americans today are lonely, 58% to be exact. This is a fact which is due in no small part to the state of modern workplaces.

If community-building events at work aren’t helping, what can workplaces do to help their employees feel less lonely? The answer the Tavern community coworking model of coworking in NYC gives is hosting purely social events in purely social settings. Under this model, businesses will rent out hotels or restaurants for communal lunches, happy hours, and other social events. While still more professional than an event unassociated with the businesses, these events’ intent is truly social. It’s an attempt at providing just a little bit of a boost to their employees’ connections.

The importance of this on a professional and personal level cannot be overstated. People spend so much of their waking day at work, but rarely form bonds outside of their immediate coworkers. These events are an opportunity to connect with like minded people that the workplace doesn’t typically foster interaction between. While they do require some overhead from the business, some versions of the model even offer a subscription to employees. This helps to reduce costs and gives the employees more control over the vision of the events. 

Ultimately this is just one approach to the issue that is pervading across all of America today. It’s not going to single handedly change the state of a workplace, but it is a critical attempt at helping. More and more employers are realizing the value of happy and loyal workers. Unavoidably, it takes real effort to achieve this, not just insincere attempts. The Tavern community coworking model is just one step in this effort, but a promising one.