And How That Relates to Mental Health and Therapy
More and more people work from home, and the studies confirm that a majority of people find themselves more productive and happier as a result. It can lead to a better work/life balance, it eliminates commute, it can make it easier to parent, and it eliminates a large chunk of interpersonal workplace drama.
But that doesn’t mean that working from home is always the best option. One thing that surprises many people is that the best place to work isn’t necessarily at home OR the office. Studies have shown that one of the places that offers both employees – and employers – the best experience is working away from the home, like at a coffee shop.
Why Coffee Shops Are Great Places to Work
Working in a public place, like a coffee shop, may sound almost as though it would be more difficult. There are more distractions and noise, for example, and if you’re trying to focus on your projects, it may see more difficult to do so when there are strangers talking and moving around about you.
Yet, it is these qualities and others that make working away from the home unique, and often a better choice depending on the work. For example:
- Ambient Belonging – One of the few problems with working from home is that, without an office around you, many people struggle with a sense of belonging. Humans are hard wired to feel more comfortable, safe, and relaxed when they are surrounded by others. Coffee shops provide this, through a phenomenon known as “ambient belonging,” where a person feels like they are a part of something simply by being in a shared space with others. That reduces distractions and stress in a way that can help people focus more on work.
- Fewer Distraction Opportunities – You can still be distracted in a coffee shop, but what you’re distracted by is much more limited. You aren’t going to find yourself watching TV, speaking to your spouse, or checking the mail. You’re there to work, and the distractions are more ambient – going on around you – rather than opportunities to take you physically away from work.
- Separation of Work vs Home – When you work at a coffee shop, you know you’re there to work. None of the home distractions are there, nor is there this feeling of “I have all day” to do something. You’re at the coffee shop to work, so you work, and then when you come home you’ll be more likely to feel free of work. This makes the work/life balance even better for your mental health.
- Noise Can Help You Focus – For years, the assumption was that quiet is best for concentration and noise works against it. Research on ambient sound tells a more complicated story. A well-known study out of the University of Chicago found that moderate background noise — about the volume of a busy coffee shop — improved performance on tasks requiring focus and creative thinking, more than near-silence did. Noise that was too loud still hurt performance, but a moderate amount, at the right level, actually helped. The theory is that a moderate, unpredictable hum gives the brain just enough to process that it can’t fully turn inward. In a silent room, there’s nothing external competing for attention, so internal noise — a wandering thought, a mental to-do list, a spiral of overthinking — causes the mind to wander.
- Body Doubling – When you’re at a coffee shop, you are not the only one working. You are typically around other people working. Having someone near you working but not speaking to you gives this feeling like you’re supposed to be working too, and tells your brain that this is a place where people concentrate and focus.
Each of these shows how working with people has mental health benefits that specifically make it possible to become a more productive and happier worker, even if instinctually we (positively) imagine work from home being something that we do to get away from others.
The Mental Health Benefits of People
So, we have established that coffee shops have scientific reasons that they can help people work and be more productive. But why does that matter in the mental health world?
What it tells us is that there are benefits to being around people, and many have lost those benefits in their life. They’re on their phones more instead of seeing people in person. They’re working from a home office instead of out and about. They’re spending more and more time indoors, away from others.
Research is showing us that our mental health is better when we have people in our lives. But since that is a challenge for so many of us, especially since COVID, we sometimes need help to feel comfortable around people and to learn how to integrate others into our lives.
Nassau Counseling Services works with adults across Long Island managing anxiety, chronic stress, and the kind of persistent focus, motivation, and social struggles that can affect your quality of life. If you feel like something is off, call (516) 973-1032 or reach out through our website to connect with one of our therapists.
