
Coworking as an antidote to loneliness
It’s often invisible and unspoken, but loneliness is one of the most common diseases of our time. We believe that a coworking place can be a very effective antidote to loneliness. Members Nouchka and Nils and managing director Joke share how the Brain Embassy community has become like a home away from home to them.
Loneliness was the theme of ‘De Warmste Week’, the yearly fundraising action that public broadcasting VRT sets up around Christmas. Thousands of people raised money for initiatives that combat loneliness. It’s obviously a topic many of us can relate to. Research shows that one in two people in Flanders feel lonely at times.
In a lot of conversations at Brain Embassy, we feel that loneliness is clearly a topic that resonates with our members.
Nouchka (entrepreneur, swimmer after hours, cat mom of Ziggy and Flake)

‘My new group of friends feels like a second family’
“I’m an expert in personal branding for female entrepreneurs. I mainly work alone, so, the loneliness of the solo entrepreneur is very real for me. Working at home felt lonely and coffee bars didn’t do the trick for me. Even though you are surrounded by other people and other entrepreneurs, it’s hard to make connections. The barrier to approach someone and start a conversation is high.”
Brain Embassy lowers the barrier. The place doesn’t have that cold, corporate vibe some coworkings have. It has a homely feeling.
“When I joined Brain Embassy, a whole new world opened up for me. “Brain Embassy lowers the barrier. The place doesn’t have that cold, corporate vibe some coworkings have. It has a homely feeling. The team puts in a lot of effort to bring members closer together.”
“I made new friends here who are all in the same boat. We discuss ideas, we reflect on plans and strategies, we share our struggles, and we celebrate our wins together. The connections go far beyond entrepreneurship. We stay here late, we make dinner together, we even meet up in the weekends. Our group of friends feels like a second family to me now.”
“Loneliness is a complex issue. We all know the clichés of people who never see or meet other people, but you can also be lonely when you are surrounded by other people. The only effective cure for loneliness are deep connections. I see a lot of people looking for those connections, for a community to belong to.”
Nils (entrepreneur, cross fitter after hours, planning to move to Antwerp in 2025)

‘Entrepreneurship is lonely’
“I run a startup with 3 employees, but we all work remote. I came out of a long relationship and I’m single again, so I didn’t really feel like working from home and being alone all the time. Humans are social animals, we need connections. That’s just who we are.”
You attract what you send out. Brain Embassy attracts caring members, who want to be a part of a community.
“I started trying out coworkings and I felt at home at Brain Embassy from the very first moment. I used to work for Microsoft, the company is known for its cozy offices, they go all out to create a home away from home. Brain Embassy has the same vibe. But the environment you work in is not the most important thing. It all starts with the culture. The team here genuinely cares about the community and the people who are a part of it. That’s something you can’t fake. In the end, you attract what you send out. Brain Embassy attracts caring members, who want to be a part of a community.”
“Entrepreneurship is lonely. I made a few good friends here who understand that. Although we work in totally different industries, we share common challenges and common hassles. We talk to each other, we comfort each other, we lift each other up.
We also hold each other accountable, also in the most turbulent moments, but we never judge. I’m very grateful for the friends and the community I’ve found here.”
Joke (managing director at Brain Embassy, single mom of Oliver and Auguste)

‘We try to be the glue between our members’
“I was struck by this year’s theme of De Warmste Week. It’s very, very relevant to Brain Embassy. A coworking is so much more than just a place to work, it’s also a community of people.”
Everybody needs someone to talk, to blow off steam, to celebrate.
“Working from home might be easier and more efficient, but it's also lonely. Many members told me they started feeling the rebound of being all by themselves all day long. The digital islands we are on can be lonely places. Everybody needs someone to talk, to blow off steam, to celebrate.”
“As a team, we try to be the glue between our members. We give the first connections a little push, we try to bring like-minded people together. Belgium is not the easiest place to blend in. Members who are new in the country or even the city tell us that they sometimes struggle with the closed mindset of the people around them. The atmosphere is not very welcoming. We’re trying to break that.”
“It already starts with the workplace setup. Coffee is a conversation starter, so we’ve created plenty of space around the coffee machine. Small changes like that have a huge impact, they boost connections. Small gestures also make a great difference. Just inviting people to join you at your table for lunch, things like that. It instantly makes people feel less lonely.”
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