LIFE & CULTURE
XpatAthens
Christmas Bazaar At Domatio Every Weekend Of December!
Fresh ideas are shared and coexist in our colorful and aesthetic space, stuffed with objects made with passion.
Don't miss Domatio’s creative team participation, inspired by ethnic motifs and iconic personalities of the art-world. We made crochet Christmas ornaments, jewelry from vintage buttons and loads of color.
Every weekend of December, starting Saturday 30 of November you will find :
Domatio is a place that is open to the promotion of artists and ideas, adequately equipped, versatile and adaptable to the needs in question, and this is offered alongside the expert guidance and support of the members that form its frame.
We are here anytime you wish to make use of the opportunity to house any form of expression in the space of ‘domatio’ .
Two 3,500-Year-Old Royal Tombs Discovered In The Peloponnese
It is worth mentiong that the Mycenaean era, which dates from about 1650 B.C. to 1100 B.C., was the foundation for many Ancient Greek myths and legends, including that of the Trojan War. The graves lie near the Palace of Pylos, which features in Homer's Odyssey as the seat of the wise King Nestor.
The Greek Parliament Approves Diaspora Voting Rights
The Greek Parliament has approved the bill to allow diaspora Greeks to exercise their voting rights from their place of residence. The bill was passed with a majority of 288 members of Parliament voting in favor, restoring a historic commitment that had been on hold for 44 years.
The 4 key points that made this broad consensus possible are the following:
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The vote of diaspora Greeks shall be equal to that of residents of Greece.
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Diaspora voters will vote for the State Ballot, which will increase its seats from 12 to 15 candidates.
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Personal presence is required for casting a vote.
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Greeks who have resided in Greece for at least 2 years and have and have tax obligations will be eligible vote.
The Rise Of The Freelance Workforce
There’s been a lot of talk recently about freelancers disrupting the workforce and existing markets. A 2016 McKinsey Global Institute report found that a huge 20-30% of the workforce in Europe and the US engage in some form of independent work – and its more than just new players like Uber making up the numbers. We’re seeing a broader shift in both corporate strategy and workforce attitudes that’s changing the way we do business, for the better.
Empowering Individuals
A big factor in the rising freelance workforce comes from an increasing desire for more freedom and control. Around 61% of respondents to our Great Big Survey, which included 40,000 workers from around the world, said that work-life balance is the main driving force behind flexible working.
Workers also want greater autonomy to forge ahead on their own path. You can see this in the OECD’s Entrepreneurship at a Glance 2015 report, which surveyed people aged 18-64 from 41 different countries. This study found that 48% of men and 36% of women would rather start their own business than work for someone else.
Spotting The Trend
The people behind the gig economy (using freelancers on an ad-hoc basis) were early birds: they recognised a rising value for independence and entrepreneurial spirit and they leapt at the chance. All companies have the power to respond and integrate this system to benefit their own workforce, and there’s evidence they’re starting to do so. Around 42% of executives surveyed by Deloitte in their Global Human Capital Trends 2016 report said they planned to employ more ad-hoc workers over the next three to five years.
This isn’t simply a response to worker demands. 58% of businesses told us that reducing permanent staff overheads is key to their post-recession plans. It also helps them work in a more agile way, scaling their workforce up and down to meet changes in demand and new industry developments.
To integrate larger numbers of freelance workers, companies are changing their office environments. PwC’s 2016 Emerging Trends in Real Estate survey found that more and more businesses are looking for high-quality, flexible and serviced office and co-working spaces, like Regus, where they can scale up and down quickly.
The next step is to ensure that these flexible, changing teams are working in the most creative and productive ways possible. According to the 2017 Deloitte Human Capital Trends report, this will mean moving away from management hierarchies and towards groups of empowered networks that are able to change regularly and quickly.
Explore Regus' flexible workspace locations to help increase business productivity!
This content has been sponsored by IWG - an XpatAthens Brand Partner.
How To Stop Feeling So Busy All The Time
The frantic rhythms of daily life often make us feel exhausted, draining our energy, making us function almost mechanically, striving to make time for everything and fulfill all of our obligations. In fact, connectivity is responsible for this situation because it makes us feel that we need to be alert at all times, with tons of redundant notifications bombarding us non-stop.
All of the above lead to us constantly feeling busy and not being able to devote time to ourselves. But are we really that busy? Maybe the problem lies in the way we manage our time. Below, let's see some tips on what we can do to give our brain and body a chance to reset, restore, and cope with the stresses of everyday life!
Realize That Time Is Limited
No matter how hard we try to do everything, the day only has 24 hours. We have to come to terms with the fact that time is a precious yet limited commodity, and we cannot change that. It is also important to come to terms with our human nature - we are not superheroes, and we can not do everything. If we do not accept the above, we will be in a constant state of anxiety, trying to do much more than we can actually do, undermining our productivity and the quality of the result of our efforts.
Prioritize Work
It is crucial to have a clear picture of what needs to be done and when. Sure, every task is important, but some tasks are just more important than others. First, we deal with what needs to be done immediately and leave the rest for later if there is any time left. We don’t need to force ourselves to work on something that can be done at a later time when we will be less busy and able to focus exclusively on it.
Don’t Rush Things
When we feel really busy, it makes sense to try to do everything as fast as we can. However, rushing things leads to mistakes, which will create more stress, and we will also have to fix them, which will ultimately cost us more time.
Schedule Extra Time
Things usually take longer than we expect. So, we make sure that we always schedule extra time for tasks that could need more time. And, if the project didn’t require that extra time, we can use it for other tasks or for a much-needed break!
Give Time Away
Devoting some of our valuable time to a good cause, such as spending time with family or helping a friend in need, can actually help us be more productive. This is because subconsciously doing something successfully, such as advising a friend, works as a confirmation of our potential and our self-worth.
Navarino Challenge 2019: Love Auction
The award-winning sports tourism event Navarino Challenge returns for a good cause, organizing an auction of love to support three nonprofit organizations. Favorite items of beloved and renowned athletes and ambassadors of Navarino Challenge will be available through an online auction from December 11th to December 20th, 2019.
You can take part in the auction and acquire the items by clicking HERE!
In the auction you will find, among other things, the official jersey of Greece at the 1987 European Championship and a hall-of-fame ball signed by basketball legend Nick Galis, the signed jersey of NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo from his first appearance in the NBA All Star Game and his first appearance with the Greek Men’s National Team, his signed front page cover at the Sports Illustrated magazine, item of the gold Olympic medalist and world champion in still rings Eleftherios Petrounias, as well as the jersey of Greece from the 1996 Olympic Games with the signature of Panagiotis Giannakis. In the auction you will also find signed memorabilia from athletes such as: Grigoris Polychronidis (gold Paralympic athlete and world champion in boccia), Alexandros Nikolaidis (two times silver Olympic medalist in taekwondo), Spyros Gianniotis (silver Olympic medalist and world champion in open water swimming), Periklis Iakovakis (Olympic and world champion in 400m. with hurdles), Kelly Araouzou (world champion in open water swimming), Eleni Chatziliadou (world champion in karate), Vasiliki Millousi (world champion in balance beam), Joe Arlauckas (legend of Real Madrid), Dimitris Diamantidis (Greek basketball legend), Kostas Papanikolaou (international basketball player with NBA appearances), Kosta Koufos (international basketball player with NBA appearances), David Rivers (basketball legend of Olympiacos), Dean Karnazes (Greek-American ultramarathon), Michalis Triantafyllidis (participations record holder of the Greek national volleyball team), Christos Gatsis (boxing champion), Alexandros Nikolaidis (kickboxing champion), Dimitris Moros (personal trainer), Giorgos Masouras (international footballer of Olympiacos), Nikos Karelis (international footballer of Brentford). In the auction you will also find the exceptional artwork (6x2m.) of the artist Nathan Makris, that depicts top athletes, Nick Galis, Spiros Gianniotis, Alexandros Nikolaidis, Grigoris Polychronidis, Periklis Iakovakis and Dean Karnazes.
All items are donated by the athletes or the event’s friends themselves.
a) the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Environmental and Occupational Health, Prolepsis with a program on Food Aid 2 and Promotion of Healthy Nutrition, DIATROFI, and through Captain Vasilis and Carmen Konstantakopoulos Foundation
b) WWF Greece
c) Karkinaki. Navarino Challenge is co-organized by Costa Navarino , The Westin Resort Costa Navarino and Active Media Group.
Hashtags: #navarinochallenge #costanavarino #sportsunitepeople #eatwell #runwell #livewell #sportauctions
Flexible Workspaces Add $254 BN To Local Economies
Mark Dixon, the CEO of International Workplace Group (IWG), believes this growth in out-of-town workspace is partly down to support for a flexible working policy among employees: “When people commute into major cities, their wallets commute with them,” he says. “Working locally keeps that spending power closer to home. What this study shows is that providing more opportunities for people to work closer to home can have a tremendous effect, not just on them, but on their local area too.”
The first major socioeconomic study of its kind, it found that the presence of flexspace created up to 128 new jobs and a Gross Value Add (GVA) – or sandwich economy – of $16.47m (£12.7m) per area.
As the trend for a flexible-working policy continues to spread, the numbers are getting bigger too: from the roles created by running the building itself, to the ancillary jobs that spring up to serve the new business community. Amongst these many economic benefits, flexible office space is predicted to add a staggering $254bn of value to local economies around the globe over the next 10 years – roughly the same as the entire economy of the Czech Republic in 2019. It’s perhaps another indication that growth is still an important part of an economy – but it’s shifting location, and it’s doing so with the potential to be more evenly distributed.
Dig deeper: read the full Regus report here.
Originally published at Regus.com
Dangerous Missions
Are you one of those people who constantly control themselves so as not to have too many needs? Are you hiding your emotions under a constant smile? Have you taken on the 'dangerous' mission of making someone happy (or at least you think so) as a result of feeling that you do not have the right to be yourself?
If you’ve answered “yes” to any of the above questions don’t worry, you’re not alone. Let me clarify though that problems you refuse to deal with or feelings you do not express will not only upset you but will also burden future generations. While you firmly believe you are hiding everything inside you so well that your children will not be affected, you are actually doing exactly the opposite. Because children are intuitive and not only do they sense when you are anxious, tired, or sad, but they try their best to make you feel better. This however is a huge burden on your children's shoulders which they neither own nor need!
If there’s a topic you’re interested in and would like to learn more about you may contact me via email. For more information about me and my work check the XpatAthens Directory or visit my website. Because this is your life!
XpatAthens Welcomes Nadia Georgiou
We are always looking to meet and connect with new content contributors. If you believe that your content would be a positive addition to XpatAthens, click here to learn more about working with us!
We are very happy to welcome Nadia Georgiou
as an official XpatAthens content contributor.
Who Is Nadia Georgiou?
As a strong believer in "taking my responsibility in order to bring results" she founded "It's my life" life coaching services after more than 25 years in international corporate communications and while on top of her career. The creator of the seminars "Become Who You Really Are" for women and "We Are Not Born Parents. We Become Parents" for parents, she works with women who dare to live life on their terms, with parents who dare to try new approaches and with children of all ages, especially teenagers, who dare to take charge of their life early on - from all over the world.
Working together, like a coach and an athlete, she will be your avid supporter, your close and trusted partner, who listens to you while gently pushing you with care to discover your personal strength, break your fears and move from your "comfort zone" to the area of unlimited possibilities that exist within you. Nadia will give you the tools, know-how, and confidence to conquer your every new goal.
Nadia is also certified in Yoga Laughter, Pranic Healing and Body Mirror System of Healing and Self Knowledge. A Greek-American based in Athens, she's conversant in French and Italian. Trained at the Robbins Madanes Training Center and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, she holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing Management and a Master's in Communications and Public Relations. Nadia is married and has a daughter; she loves traveling, the arts, children's laughter and red wine.
Inspirational Greece
