Modern, innovative coworking spaces are cropping up across the country, as everyone from freelancers to top execs are saying goodbye to the traditional office design of the past. Creative, comfortable, and with improved productivity, it’s no doubt that the coworking sector will continue to grow.
But to what do coworking spaces owe their success? A survey by Coworker.com revealed that professionals cited an ergonomic work environment as one of the things they appreciated the most about coworking spaces, especially noting interest in standing desks as a way to enhance wellbeing and interaction. These findings were confirmed in a subsequent study by VersaDesk (www.versadesk.com).
In practical terms, this further translates to the workspace’s ability to appeal to the users’ senses. 34% of coworking members reported appreciating ambient music in their working environment, while an even higher percentage (41%) reported ambient scenting as a key way to improve the workplace experience.
While background music has played everywhere from elevators to boardrooms for decades, ambient scenting has emerged as the newest and most desired “value-add” in improving public spaces. Scenting industry leader Prolitec (www.prolitec.com) reports it now has over 130,000 installations in 83 countries globally, covering retailers, restaurants, hotels, banks, casinos, hospitals, sports venues, commercial/residential real estate, and now, most recently, coworking spaces.
That growing interest was noted by Jim Kern, Co-Founder of Stamford, CT-based Comradity (www.comradity.com): “In my own interactions with other coworking operations throughout the country, we all agreed that adding technologically controlled scenting to our environment is an asset for client retention and branding. After all, we’re in a competitive industry and this extra element is yet another way to separate ourselves from the pack.”
According to Raymond Matts, head of Fragrance Design at Prolitec, such interest is a natural extension of ambient scenting success in other work venues. “The key to an ideal environment is that the scent must be subliminal and subtle, with the proper balance between uplifting and comfortable. And certainly, the goal in a workplace is to energize.”
Source: Ambient Scenting and Sound in Growing Demand in Coworking Spaces | AllWork.Space
