In a skill sharing, rather informal coffee and cake session where anyone interested was able to participate, I was given the opportunity to share my learnings, or rather must have's and better don'ts of digital transformation journeys and likewise talk about my experiences with #hybridwork and #driveyourlife. I really enjoyed the exchange with the people from Impact Hub and especially I loved to benefit and learn also from their experiences made working remotely or partly remotely and also discovering the different views the pandemic brought to the whole topic of hybrid working. To my surprise, I learned that in Athens people rather tend to return to the offices again now after a long period of home office, which is rather forced by some employers and several further reasons like missing trust. To me personally, #hybridworking is the go to option, because I enjoy being given full flexibility while likewise also having the opportunity to socialize and see my beloved colleagues in the offices - or anywhere else.
One thing we talked about and agreed on: There is not the perfect recipe for paving successful digital transformation journeys as every journey is individual and depending on various prevailing conditions, but the more preconditions exist on the must have side or at least the commitment to accomplish these, the more likely it is to master the transformation journey successfully. And as it is with journeys - or roadtrips - there are always ups and downs.
One question that was raised after the skill sharing and led to a great conversation between the partipants of the session and me was the question whether #workingfromeverywhere increases job market competitition and therefore impedes or rather complicates the process of job seeking for local or location-based people. For me, this was an interesting stake because as it certainly is with most things: it has always two sides: for companies it offers for finding the best talents and not being location-bound in search and for job applicants moving to another place for a job does not necessarily apply anymore which can be a great factor to an individuals' wellbeing. On the other side it is not anymore local people competing and applying for a job, but anyone who wishes to work remotely which drastically reduces the probability of being hired for the preferred job.
Well, definitely this is a topic I'd be interested in exchanging with a couple of you!
Lastly, one thing I again was surprised by after having made a similar experience in Thessaloniki: The Impact Hub has opening hours and those on two days totally colidated with my virtual meeting schedule and therefore required some extra day planning (but likewise) offered the opportunity to work from one of the many rooftops for some time - so everything fine! :-)
After one week and since summer is just starting it was the perfect timing to escape big city noises, stuffy air and stressed capital city inhabitants and escape towards our next stop in the Cyclades islands: Mykonos.
Stay tuned for island vibes!
Greets from the most beautiful country, ;-)
Lisa & Vicky