In today's corporate environment where frequent changes and uncertainty have established a harsh reality, employees are required to manage and adapt to upheavals quickly and effectively. In an ideal corporate environment, they are even called upon to pursue them, recognising the opportunities and possibilities hidden within them.
What exactly does wellbeing in the workplace mean?
What reasons led large companies, such as Facebook and Google, as well as smaller ones to focus on the physical and mental well-being of employees?
Moderator
Alexandra Kaimenou, Journalist
Experts
Myrto Legaki, Certified Mindfulness Instructor, Mindful Leadership & Corporate Wellbeing Consultant
Olga Stamathioudaki, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director, Qualco Group
Antonis Fragakis, Yoga and tai chi teacher
In today's corporate environment where frequent changes and uncertainty have established a harsh reality, employees are required to manage and adapt to upheavals quickly and effectively. In an ideal corporate environment, they are even called upon to pursue them, recognising the opportunities and possibilities hidden within them. Knowledge and soft skills are often not enough. Thus, caring for workplace well-being emerges as a structural component of human-centered corporate culture and strategy.
- What exactly does wellbeing in the workplace mean?
- In what ways is this reflected in practice?
- What reasons led large companies, such as Facebook and Google, as well as smaller ones to focus on the physical and mental well-being of employees?
- In what ways did Qualco invest in the wellbeing of its employees and how can its program become a best practice and inspiration for other companies?
- What exactly does a workplace wellbeing program include and how does it contribute to the health and well-being of the employees?
- What are the benefits of a wellbeing program for the employees?
- What implications can a company have when it doesn’t implement wellbeing programs?
- How can a smaller company implement wellness programs and benefit accordingly?
Alexandra Kaimenou was born and grew up in Athens. She studied at Harokopio University in the Department of Geography and at the same time she graduated from ANT1 Media Lab.
She made her first steps in journalism in 2012, making a show dedicated to the Greek community, on ANT1 Satellite Channels.
Since late 2015 she’s worked in the Newscast of ANT1, initially doing freelance reporting and then as an accredited journalist at the Ministry of Labor.
Later, she presented the show "Kalokairi Mazi" on ANT1, in the summer of 2019. In the autumn of the same year and for one season she worked alongside Giorgos Papadakis in the show “Kalimera Ellada”.
Since October 2020, she belongs to the staff of ERT, presenting the daily news program "Syndeseis” together with Costas Papachlimintzos.
Myrto Legaki is a Mindfulness Instructor, Mindful Leadership and Wellbeing Consultant, Motivational Speaker and founder of One Breath Mindfulness Center, the pioneer consultancy in Greece offering scientifically-backed coaching programs that combine mindfulness, neuroscience and psychology, and cultivate resilience, emotional intelligence and wellbeing.
Transitioning from the corporate world after 15 years working as a management consultant and marketing director in fast-paced organizations in New York, London and Athens, she now teaches the practices that helped her recover from burnout, into leading a life of purpose.
She is a TEDx speaker, certified mindfulness & MBSR instructor trained at leading global institutions in the field (University of Massachusetts and Brown) and a certified mindfulness instructor for children. Her work has been featured in numerous press outlets as she is an early advocate of mindful leadership and wellbeing in Greece.
She has participated at the 10th Panhellenic Child Psychiatry conference with AKMA (Athenian Institute of Anthropos) and the 16th European Conference for Body Psychotherapy as well as conferences and print publications by the Hellenic Society of Medical Oncology regarding the contribution of mindfulness on health prevention and cancer care.
She has been working on a daily meditation practice since 2010, in supervision by Brown University and she’s a volunteer mentor with Women On Top organization. She has studied alongside great teachers such as Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Saki Santorelli, Florence Meleo-Meyer, Melissa Blacker, Dr. Petros Polychronis, while she spends 20-30 days a year in silence to deepen her practice, attending silent retreats/vipassana.
Olga Stamathioudaki is Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director at Qualco Group, responsible for Environment, Health & Safety, Employee Wellbeing, and Facilities.
Ms. Stamathioudaki currently leads all corporate sustainability initiatives and works toward making a real impact through Qualco Group’s ESG program. She has 20 years of experience with a diverse background in organisational development, marketing, and communications for technology and services organisations.
Prior to joining Qualco Group, she worked for Unisystems and IDEAL Group of Companies. Ms. Stamathioudaki holds a BA in Humanitarian Studies (Russian and Spanish literature) from the University of Parma, an MA in International Marketing from IFOA Bologna, Italy, a Diploma in HR Strategy in Transforming Organisations from London Business School, and a series of HR & Leadership related certifications from CIPD, UK.
Antonis Fragakis started yoga in 1999 when, being in New York as an actor, he met Cyndi Lee, founder of the famous OM YOGA and who introduced him to ashtanga vinyasa. He continued his practice with different teachers until he met Iyengar Yoga. Fascinated by its precision, dynamism and interiority, he spent many months in India alongside Prashant Iyengar, Chanchani and Usha Devi.
He has attended seminars with Marla Apt, Bobby Clenel, Olga Zvontsova, Marios Argyros and Eyal Shifroni and he is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. His instructor is one of the leading teachers in the world, Penny Chaplin. He organises and teaches yoga seminars in Greece.
