Athens has been declared the 2nd Best European Destination for 2020 by travelers in the European Best Destinations (EBD) online competition. European Best Destinations (EBD) is a Brussels-based organization that promotes culture and tourism in Europe.

According to EBD, the 11th edition of the competition attracted more than 600,000 votes from 179 countries–breaking all previous records.

 

The town of Colmar in France came first and was proclaimed Best European Destination for 2020 with a record-breaking 179,723 votes!

 

Athens was voted by a total of 104,639 voters and ranked 2nd on the list, 10 places up from 12th place last year!

 

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

A short story about the power of gratitude and love.

Let me tell you a story about a client of mine, let's call him Mr. Smith. Successful in his profession, he's a charismatic man with a big heart, a born leader with very concrete views. Mr. Smith has a beautiful family and two boys, a doctoral student, and a first-grader.

His eldest son has always succeeded in everything he's done and has received praise and admiration from everyone. He is also a good kid and has a nice, steady relationship – the ideal child for a parent. The youngest boy is a sweet, affectionate and sociable child who does not show the same abilities in school as his older brother. It goes without saying that Mr. Smith loves both his children very much. Yet because he's often so authoritarian, he's found himself angrily screaming and threatening his little son. You see, he thought he was just immature, lazy and ill-tempered. On top of that Mr. Smith would blame his wife as mums are always to blame!

Recently, however, he found out that his youngest son's academic difficulty is caused by a particular brain condition. Not something irreversible or serious but definitely something he's never expected. "Is it possible that my child may have special needs?" he kept on asking himself. What a big shock! He just couldn't digest it. It took him a while to realize what he wasn't seeing.

 

 

It's a well known fact that Greece is a beautiful country so we don't like to brag about it... well maybe just a little bit! In this week's newsletter discover some of the most beautiful towns in Greece to visit for a lovely time and find out which Greek resorts were named the best ones in the world!

One of the many traditions held in Greece is one known as ''Theofania'' and it is one of the most sacred holidays of the Greek Orthodox Church. Whether you're a local, just visiting the country or has recently moved here, don't miss the chance to learn all about this feast day and many more!

Remember to stay connected with us through our weekly newsletter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Spending New Year's in Greece? Great! We have everything you need to know so you don't feel like a fish out of water, from all the traditions that take place to what the locals eat to celebrate the new year!

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A fact that virtually every company will agree with, regardless of size, is that business is becoming increasingly global. So regardless of where a firm is based, when it comes to choosing a provider for an essential service such as office space, it makes sense for them to choose someone that can provide that truly global outlook.

 

The world of flexible working is one of those services. Undoubtedly one of the emerging disruptive trends in recent years, and a growth sector for global business that shows no signs of abating, flexible-office space providers have sprung up to try and service this need in cities all over the world.

 

But regardless of whether they’re pursuing international growth, there are a range of crucial factors all firms should take into consideration before deciding on a flexible-office space provider. From stability to global reach, professionalism and reputation, it’s a simple fact that smaller companies simply can’t contend with what a worldwide provider like IWG can provide.

 

This is something that’s been seen in the Russian market. Smaller, local players may have emerged in the flexible-workspace market there but IWG – with its global reputation and respected brand – has continued to be a firm favourite with tenants in the country’s capital. “One international company planned to move to a competitor due to a lower price, but then preferred to stay at Regus as their HQ considered Regus the most reliable workspace-provider in Moscow,” says Irina Baeva, Country Manager IWG Russia.

With IWG being the biggest global provider of flexible workspace and flexspace-industry experts, it also has an enviable reputation built up over 30 years with market expertise and an infrastructure built on tried and tested processes.

 

High corporate standards across every department, from legal, operations and HR, to training and management are all strictly monitored by head office too. As well as the longevity and stability provided by IWG, in markets such as Russia there are also the myriad of practical advantages that being backed up by a truly global business provides as well. “Some international/foreign companies choose Regus because they can pay in USD, not only in Roubles,” adds Baeva. “The local players do not accept payments in foreign currency.”

 

When deciding on a flexible-workspace provider, it’s also important to consider that IWG is following a model that has seen it establish and successfully operate in 3,300 locations in over 1,000 towns and cities in more than 110 countries.

“Regus is known on the market for the ability to fastest set up an office space for a customer, so that they can move in ASAP,” she says. “While other market players are catching up, Regus still has the best standards and expertise in this regard.”

Christmas is a wonderful time and Greece has a lot to offer! Explore some of the best restaurants in Athens for a festive dinner, learn how to make the most popular Greek Christmas cookies and if you had some shopping in mind, we've got you covered!

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As you can already tell, this week's newsletter is all about Athens! Find out the reasons behind the name of the city, how you can spend the day there with just 5€ and secret museums to explore!

Remember to stay connected with us through our weekly newsletter, Facebook, and Instagram!

A competitive salary alone is no longer enough to attract and retain top staff. Instead, workers now expect companies to offer packages which support their wellbeing and lifestyle requirements too.

 

According to the Workplace Culture Trends report for 2018, 86% of millennials said they would consider taking a pay cut in order to work at a company that offers packages which suit their values and lifestyle. Such perks include access to healthcare, gym memberships and parental leave. And companies are listening.

 

The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans report that more than nine in ten companies around the world offer staff at least one form of wellness benefit, and more than three in five have an allocated ‘wellness budgets’. What’s more, these budgets are expected to increase by 7.8% in the coming years and, according to Deloitte, the corporate wellbeing market as a whole will be worth $11.3 billion in 2021.

 

The term ‘wellbeing’ is a broad one and can cover just about any aspect of an employee’s life. So, which specific areas are companies focusing on in 2020?

Already a hot topic, the mental health of employees will continue to dominate wellbeing agendas. It’s estimated that stress and lack of work-life balance support costs the EU €20bn per year, Australia ($30bn), Canada ($12bn) and US ($300bn) through reduced productivity. Furthermore, a study by the Britain’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 80% of employees with mental ill health in the UK struggle to concentrate, 50% are potentially less likely to be patient with clients or customers and 37% are more likely to get into conflict with colleagues. It’s also estimated that in the UK alone, mental ill health costs employers between £33bn-£42bn per year, so it’s clear to see why businesses will continue to address these issues in 2020.

 

A good example of an organisation tackling mental health among its workforce is Transport for London (TFL), the government body responsible for transport links in the UK capital. An employer of around 27,000 people, TFL offers tailored metal health support in the form of counselling, trauma services and a telephone helpline offering emotional support to employees.

Financial Support

Employers are also set to offer more financial wellness support in 2020. According to research carried out by Salary Finance, in the US, almost half of US employees are worried about money. What’s more, the PWC Employee Fit and Wellness Survey also  revealed that employees stressed about their finances are absent from work for twice as many days as those who were not stressed, again impacting productivity and a company’s ability to operate at full capacity.

This is an issue that businesses have begun to address in recent years, with figures from Bank of America’s 2019 Workplace Benefits Report showing that twice as many companies offer financial wellbeing support today (53%) compared to four years ago (24%). However, according to research done by Thomsons Online Benefits, there are still a number of barriers preventing businesses from offering financial wellbeing programmes to employees. For example, almost one in four companies are concerned about the risk of getting too involved in their employees’ financial lives, 20% think that it’s not their role to do so and 24% worry about the costs of offering such support.

Despite these concerns, there’s been a clear upward trend of businesses offering financial wellbeing packages to their employees as they continue to recognise the impact financial worry has on their wellbeing.

Flexible Working

As employees look to achieve greater work-life balance, they are increasingly seeking work with businesses that offer flexibility. This has become so important to employees that the latest IWG Global Workspace Survey found 83% of workers around the world would turn down a job that didn’t offer flexible working, with 54% saying that having a choice of work location is more important to them than working for a prestigious company.

As a result of this demand, in the past ten years, 85% of businesses have introduced a flexible workspace policy, or are planning to adopt one. However, a number of companies still have reservations about flexible working with 60% saying that changing the organisational culture is the main barrier to implementing a flexible workspace policy and over a third (41%) say that fear of how flexible working may impact the overall company culture is the biggest obstacle.  

Employee Wellbeing In 2020

The employee wellbeing market has grown significantly in recent years with HR departments continuing to identify effective ways of building a happy and motivated workforce. This growth shows no signs of slowing up in 2020 with employee mental health, financial wellbeing and flexible working all expected to become integral parts of staff wellbeing packages.

 

For more information on how flexible working could benefit your business, please visit IWG.

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This content has been sponsored by IWG - an XpatAthens Brand Partner.
Originally published at IWG

For the 5th year in a row, the students of Panteion University's culture program have joined forces with Onassis STEGI cultural center to organize a 3-day musical event titled "A Musical Bridge Over Syngrou."

The festival, which aims to bring young composers and musicians to the spotlight, is the culmination of an intensive workshop aiming to provide students with the experience of organizing music events.

The festival will take place at Panteion University and includes 5 musical concerts. Tickets are free on a first come, first-served basis will be distributed at the venue one hour before each event.