Author: obc_adm

The special time is getting closer – Christmas. We would like this time to be unique and filled with unforgettable experiences also at Olivia. We are preparing for you many Christmas attractions and we hope that they will be excellent opportunities for joyful and joint meetings 🙂

All centre’s buildings will be, as every year, brightened by Christmas illuminations. In front of the centre, from the side of Tricity’s main artery – Al. Grunwaldzka in Gdańsk – there will be placed giant, 3-metre high Christmas baubles. Moreover, some beautiful Christmas trees will stand on Olivia’s premises and in reception areas you will feel Christmas atmosphere thanks to climatic music.

Christmas attractions

Saturday, December 2 at 6:00 pm

We would like to invite you to a Christmas edition of Olivia Camerata series of concerts

, during which we will have a chance to listen to the most beautiful classic chamber music, for example by Mozart, Beethoven, Bizet, Moniuszko or Strauss. We have prepared an exquisite Christmas Music Menu. Apart from masterpieces, you will have a chance to listen to Christmas songs and, of course, beloved carols, which are particularly close to our hearts. Maybe we will sing them together? 🙂

Wednesday, December 6

On the occasion of St. Nicholas Day, there will be surprises waiting in all Olivia Business Centre’s buildings and they will for sure make your day more enjoyable. 🙂 Look for them in Christmas socks!

Thursday, December 7 from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm

Christmas Charity Fair
. Christmas is getting closer every day. You still haven’t got any ideas for gifts? Are you looking for something unique? Do you want to give your closest ones an exceptional gift? If the answers are yes, this event is for you. We would like to invite you to participate in the 3rd^{edition of} Christmas charity fair in Olivia Business Centre. We have invited local representatives of foundations and non-governmental organisations to present their goods. It will be a great opportunity to buy handcrafts: Christmas decorations and cards, calendars and mascots made by the charges of non-governmental organisations. The whole profit will go to a noble cause!

Saturday, December 9 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm

We would like to invite you to participate in the annual Residents’ Christmas Eve – a Family Christmas meeting in Olivia Business Centre. Incredible adventures in Santa’s Factory will be waiting for you and your loved ones, especially the youngest ones.

Among the attractions there will be ceramics and Lego workshops, making pierogi (Polish dumplings) together, sewing Christmas decorations, adventure at the Pole and the visit of Santa Claus!
Together, we will be making music, playing concerts, singing Christmas carols and tasting delicious food.

Competitions

We have also planned some Christmas competitions for you 🙂 A unique Christmas atmosphere is enhanced by decorations and self-made baked goods.

December 1 – December 12

Competition for a self-made Christmas tree decoration

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Self-made Christmas decorations make us even more happy! Last year, we prepared together a lot of beautiful decorations. Also this Christmas, we will have an opportunity to admire all decorations on Christmas trees placed in Olivia’s reception areas. Let’s put our hearts and souls into preparing decorations also this year and let’s infuse the décor of Olivia Business Centre’s reception area with individual character during this special, family time.

December 11 – December 20

Competition for the funniest Christmas jumper. We would like to invite you to participate in our jumper competition! Pull your favourite Christmas jumper out of the bottom of your wardrobe, put in on, come to work dressed like that :), take a photo, send it to us or publish on Facebook and win a surprise gift! The person, who will have the biggest number of votes under their photo, will be a winner. Let’s go :)!

December 12

Culinary charity competition: become the master of Christmas treats. We encourage all cooking enthusiasts to bring their authorial, Christmas dishes and become the master of Christmas treats. If you can’t cook, you can become a culinary judge! It will be possible to cast votes with the use of small stickers. We encourage you to evaluate goodies. Thanks to that, we will be able to pick out Top Chef and in this way help Saint Pancracy Foundation.

Christmas offers

Among the offers of our eating places, you will find many Christmas products or seasonal sales. All information can be found on: http://www.oliviacentre.com/cat/oferty-swiateczne/

Bon appétit 🙂

Let’s spend this beautiful, family, pre-Christmas time together 🙂

We are talking about happiness at work with Natalia Bogdan, who is CEO in Jobhouse, a nationwide temporary work and personal consulting agency, and who conducted an unusual study. Its purpose was to analyse, whether Poles are happy at work, what the level of satisfaction depends on and to identify what should be changed to make Poles more willing to recommend their workplaces. The report was presented on November 21 in Olivia Business Centre.

The study was conducted on the sample of N=901 people with secondary and higher education, who are currently working, mostly in big cities. The study was conducted from 12.06.2017 to 31.08.2017 through an online survey on behalf of Jobhouse by Great Digital agency.

–/ —

Monika Bogdanowicz (Olivia Business Centre): Why is it worth analysing the subject of happiness at work, who needs this knowledge, especially nowadays?

Natalia Bogdan: I think that everyone needs it. I believe that happiness or its absence at work translate into other areas of life. I don’t think that someone who is not satisfied with the direction his/her career is taking or has a boss, who clips his wings, can be kind to his/her close ones and full of energy to act.

MB: Are we currently on such a level of labour market development that our emotions and feelings connected with company’s organisational culture are starting to play bigger and bigger role?

NB: Yes, definitely. More and more people pay attention not only to material aspects of their work. In the past, the main, and very often the only driver at work, was money. Of course, nowadays it is also important – salary makes it possible for us to live, but more and more people also want their work to give them opportunities for development, meeting interesting people and pursuing their passions. As shown in our study called “The happiness of Poles at work”, we care more and more about keeping balance between work and private life.

MB: What can we find out from the report prepared by your company?

NB: That Poles, on a scale from 0 to 10, are happy at work on the level of 6.3. This is a satisfying result, but we still have some scope for improvement. This result varies significantly between people who work and aren’t planning to change their jobs (they ranked their level of happiness at 7.8) and the ones who work, but are thinking of changing their jobs (they ranked their level of happiness at 5.1). This is an important signal for employers that nowadays we don’t have to be extremely unhappy at work to start looking for a new job.

We also identified the factors, on which the level of happiness at work depends. For 88% of employees, a factor which determines happiness at work is a good salary. Such factors as co-workers, who we can count on – 84% and development opportunities at work – 81% also ranked very high. Other factors were connected with work-life-balance – 80% of respondents indicated the possibility to balance work and private life, while 76% of respondents mentioned quite a surprising factor, namely commuting time.

MB: What are the main conclusions and recommendations both for people who are looking for attractive companies and for companies which want to convince them that their job offers are of high quality?

NB: Employees should, most importantly, think about what determines their job satisfaction and think which tasks and companies can give it to them. Only on this basis we should start looking for a job. On the other hand, employers should analyse what employees indicate as important factors at workplace and adapt their offer to market’s needs, as well as present it in a proper way in their communication with candidates.

MB: How can we distinguish in your report semantic usage of such terms as: satisfaction, level of satisfaction and happiness, which are customarily used during the analysis of the subject in HR environment.

NB: We entitled our report “The happiness of Poles at work”. Of course, there are many definitions of happiness and the feeling of happiness is very subjective. That is why, we didn’t create an unequivocal definition of this term in our study. We wanted respondents to assess on their own their level of happiness and what it means to them.

MB: Is a workplace itself important for employees, where it is placed, what its aesthetics and interior design are, as well as the quality of space outside the office, for example whether there is some place to have a rest?

NB: 48% of respondents answered that comfortable working conditions at the office help people be happy at work. 25% of respondents answered that conditions in their office would have to change to make them willing to recommend their workplace. However, we didn’t define what respondents understand as comfortable working conditions.

MB: What, in your opinion, primarily influences the fact that a given company is/may be perceived as an example of good practices in the scope of shaping work environment, which may contribute to the happiness of its employees?

NB: I think that the most important for a company is to take care of both tangible and intangible needs of its employees. Apart from salary, which makes it possible to live a decent life, companies should take care of employees’ development opportunities, atmosphere in a team and balance between work and private life.

MB: How each of us could answer the question whether we can measure the level of happiness, which, after all, predestines our decisions and conscious choices made in the situation of choice or the will to change our job?

NB: While creating the study entitled “The happiness of Poles at work” we wanted to encourage Polish employees to think of their own happiness at work. I think that each of us should think whether our job gives us satisfaction and opportunities to fulfil our needs, not only tangible ones. If there are areas, in which we don’t feel a true satisfaction, it is worth wondering, what we can influence ourselves and what can we suggest to our boss.

MB: Which issue surprised you in this study and are you planning to further explore the subject of happiness at work?

NB: What surprised me the most was the fact that Poles are not willing to recommend their workplaces. To study this parameter, we used Net Promoter Score (NPS) indicator, which shows the ratio of critics to promotors. The result of Poles on a scale from -100 to 100 was only -14. For comparison, NPS used in consumer tests of such brands as Harley-Davidson or Apple is more than 70.

MB: Are you planning the next editions of the study?

NB: Yes, we have received a lot of positive feedback on the study both from employees and employers. We are planning to repeat it every year to observe how Poles’ level of happiness changes and whether factors, on which it depends, change. During meetings with employers, employees and media, during which we discussed the results of the study, we got a lot of valuable tips concerning additional directions, in which we could develop our study.

MB: Thank you for the interview.

HERE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD “HAPPINESS AT WORK” REPORT

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Natalia Bogdan is a founder of Jobhouse recruitment agency, headhunter, career advisor and a labour market expert. She completed Human Resource Management and Labour Law degree courses at the University of Gdańsk, as well as Human Resources Management degree course at Instituto Politecnico do Porto and Strategic Leadership Academy degree course at Ican Institute. Currently, she is a lecturer at Kozminski University in the field of Recruitment and Selection. She has been working in HR sector for more than 12 years. She gained her experience in Great Britain, in the USA, the Netherlands and Portugal. In 2017, she was honoured with title of the Businesswoman of the Year in a competition organised by Olga Kozierowska and Sukces Pisany Szminką. Apart from work, she is interested in healthy lifestyle – she has finished over a dozen marathons, half marathons and triathlons and currently she is preparing for Kilimanjaro expedition. She loves sport, travelling and healthy eating.

The aim of the project is to improve the situation on the labour market of 776 inhabitants of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, employees of SMEs, people of working age, through the implementation of postgraduate studies and training. Project participants, depending on their needs and level of education, will be able to choose one of the following forms of support: postgraduate studies in company law, intellectual property law, financial and tax issues or related to IT project management, ICT training (ECDL, Cisco) or language courses.

Project participants, depending on their needs and level of education, will be able to choose one of the following forms of support: postgraduate studies in company law, intellectual property law, financial and tax issues or related to IT project management, ICT training (ECDL, Cisco) or language courses.

Project implementation period: June 2017 – February 2020

Learn more

On 26 January 2018, at the Evening Gala of Pomeranian Employers, of which Olivia Business Centre is a partner, statuettes and certificates will be awarded for the first time to companies from the metropolitan area awarded in the Responsible and Socially Sensitive Entrepreneur 2017 competition. The aim of the competition is to popularize the idea of socially solidary business, to build one’s own image based on trust and honesty, and to honour and promote those entrepreneurs who adhere to such principles in their daily work. Among the awarded entrepreneurs there will be a social economy entity conducting business activity and employing employees.

The winners of the title of “Responsible and Socially Sensitive Entrepreneur 2017” receive:

• certificate “Responsible and Socially Sensitive Entrepreneur 2017”
• Statuette
• a prize of PLN 10,000 for the preparation of a CSR strategy,
• a short advertising film promoting CSR activities undertaken by the winners of the competition worth PLN 5000
• the possibility of using the slogan “Responsible and Socially Sensitive Entrepreneur 2017” in correspondence and promotion,
• promotion of a socially responsible company at the Final Gala

Applications are accepted until 4 December, 12.00 noon.

More information and documents can be found at the link http://pracodawcypomorza.pl/2017/11/10/przedsiebiorca-odpowiedzialny-i-wrazliwy-spolecznie-2017/

We cordially invite entrepreneurs and social economy entities from the metropolitan area.

Olivia Business Centre is a place of important meetings, also with eminent figures of Polish culture, who share their experience and passion with the Olivia community. These can be an inspiration for anyone who wants to broaden their knowledge about the phenomena taking place in Poland and in the world. Meetings organized regularly in Olivia Sky Club bring together a community of lovers of interesting, intellectual debate.

On November 21, another meeting with the author of the “Olivia Cooltura” series was held, organized by Olivia in partnership with the Provincial and Municipal Public Library in Gdańsk. Our guest was Filip Springer, an outstanding reporter, photographer of the Polish landscape, translator of architecture and “collector of visual absurdities”.

The participants of the meeting had the opportunity to learn about the creation of the author’s latest books and multimedia projects (e.g. “The City of the Archipelago”, “The Book of Delights” or “The Bathtub with a Colonnade”), listen to their key themes, and explore the visions of the development of cities of the future. During a conversation with Monika Bogdanowicz from Olivia Business Centre, Filip Springer analysed the challenges faced by the inhabitants of Polish (smaller and larger) cities regarding the creation of public space in the area of architecture and infrastructure.

The large audience reacted vigorously to Springer’s reflections on the importance of projects that can improve the quality of life of residents. m.in were discussed. legitimacy and the need to build in each of the localities the so-called architectural icons and the role of these objects for the recognition and creation of the identity of cities. The author of “13 floors” was critical of the possibility of a positive impact of the above-mentioned . He also spoke of the chaos in the surroundings of such buildings. He postulated the need for greater focus of city managers on the “background” of architectural symbols, i.e. on the need to create a comprehensive, friendly space.

They discussed the implementation of the vision of a happy life in a city such as Gdańsk or another understood as an agglomeration or metropolis. Olivia’s guest recommended the participants of the meeting to read Charles Montgomery’s book “Happy City. How to Change Our Lives by Changing Our Cities”, which indicates a number of factors that can affect the lives of residents.

WE INVITE YOU TO VIEW THE GALLERY FROM THE EVENT

According to Filip Springer, who draws on the works of other authors dealing with this subject, a happy city is: a green city, a city balanced in terms of transport and optimal ways of moving around it, and, above all, a city whose inhabitants have a real sense that their “place” is developing.

The main theme of the event was a discussion about Filip Spinger’s latest multimedia project, “City Archipelago” and a presentation of the author’s works. For several months, Springer travelled around 31 former provincial capitals, describing their current fate. The project was supported by local correspondents who wrote a blog and created a magazine with articles from and about the cities of the archipelago. The culmination of the journey is the book “City Archipelago. Poland of Smaller Towns”, which was published by the Krakow-based publishing house Karakter.

It contains dozens of stories about what life is like in contemporary Poland. Filip Springer travelled all over the country, from Słupsk to Krosno and from Suwałki to Wałbrzych, to see how the cities that lost their provincial status in 1999 function today. He got to know their history and talked to the locals. He met entrepreneurs, artists, activists and teachers. He visited local workshops and cafés, visited bankrupt factories and thriving businesses, train stations and McDonalds. He asked people what they were proud of in their city, what made them happy and what they would like to change. The book paints an ambiguous, flickering picture of Polish – where anything can happen and nothing is as simple as it might seem. Among the pains, worries and hopes of the protagonists of the reportage, one can also find those that are shared by the inhabitants of the whole Polish – both small-town and metropolitan.

We would like to thank all participants of the meeting for their enthusiastic reactions, interesting questions and time together dedicated to development! We would like to thank our project partners: the Provincial and Municipal Public Library in Gdansk, the Lobster Restaurant (for delicious cookies and warming drinks), StaraOliwa.pl, the Gdansk Community, Radio Gdansk.

See you at the next meetings in Olivia Sky Club, next year, 2018!

Filip Springer (b. 1982)

– photographer and reporter, finalist of many prestigious Polish awardsd literary works. He graduated from ArchaeologyAt the University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznań. He has presented his photographs at individual exhibitions in many Polish cities. He introduced a new topic to Polish reportage: architecture

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Already in his first book, his famous debut “Miedzianka. The Story of Disappearance”, described the history of a small town in Lower Silesia, whichdisappeared from the face of the earth. In the author’s subsequent books (“Ill-born. Reportages on the architecture of the People’s Republic of Poland”, “Zaczyn. About Zofia and Oskar Hansen” or “Bathtub with a Colonnade. Reportathat it’s about the Polish space” – she becomes the main character. Springer writes about architecture from the point of view of its user – an average citizen or an ordinary passer-by – and thus somehow pulls it out of the embrace of specialists.architectsand urban plannersin. Starting from simple questions, e.g. why does the architecture of communist modernism age so badly and why does it arouse such controversy?

An important element ofSpringer’s books arephotographs, which he weaves into the text, often by wayof differenta story that has been developed at the same time (“Ill-Born” and “Bathtub with a Colonnade”). His photoCiasThey are recognizable at first glance: cool colour tones, melancholic distance, effortless painterliness, a bit of irony here and there. As he himself admits, he tries to compose his texts on the same principles as those that govern photographic reportage; in the same wayóB uses closer and more distant planes, rhythm and detail. Although his books are devoted to specific phenomena or figures, architectsóin, they always have a deeper, existential dimension, thanks to which they go beyond an ad hoc description. Springer’s writing has already been appreciated bothCriticsand readers alikeconsider him one of the most talented authors ofhis generation.

Edit. Red. based on a biography from the “Book Institute”

Olivia 7 (the temporary name of the seventh building currently being erected in the largest business center of the Tri-City, in Olivia), was designed in the spirit of biophilic design. The office building is to provide residents with a balance between moments of intensive work during the day and the necessary moments of rest and relaxation.

Our goal is to provide the employees of the “seven” with functional, modern and bright spaces. Therefore, the offices are to guarantee them optimal working conditions, which is why we put a lot of emphasis on solutions dedicated to the comfort of work. Biophilic design is based on the assumption that everyone needs physical contact with nature to function properly, so in the “seven” we have designed openable, spacious windows and tilt façade elements – which allows for constant access to fresh air and natural light – and unusual for this type of buildings, Located on each floor of the office building, loggias, terraces and outdoor galleries filled with vegetation. We have also provided for the Two additional terraces on the roof of the “seven”.

We focused on natural materials and ubiquitous greenery – this is also planned for the façade elements. An additional patio, a green square with small architecture, cafes and restaurants will be built next to the building.

We have also taken care of the thermal comfort of users. It will be provided by m.in. A modern triple-glazed façade of the building, the use of which will significantly reduce the impact of external conditions on the temperature in offices, minimizing the need to cool rooms in summer and heat them in winter. This translates not only into convenience of use, but also into lower energy demand, and thus reduced operating costs.

Environmental friendliness and technologies used in the building are to be assessed in the BREEAM ecological certification system; with the intention of obtaining the highest possible rating, Outstanding.

A Thinking Zone junior high school operating in Olivia Business Centre with an unusual crowdfunding campaign. A campaign promoting the project “Game about…” has just been launched. Anyone who wants to help fund super odds for the winners… City Games can do this by donating any amount to the project.

Have a look at the website: https://polakpotrafi.pl/projekt/gra-o. There you will find all the information about the idea of our junior high school students. And below in a nutshell…

The Thinking Zone crowdfunding campaign has three main goals:

1. show that education can look different, can be practical and interesting,
2. enable access to alternative forms of education (workshops, courses and training) for young people who, for various reasons, cannot afford it,
3. To show that nothing is impossible and a group of junior high school students is able to create a well-thought-out, complete and interesting project.

Students for a month they want to collect 18,000 zlotys and exchange it for 30 (or more!) full trainings in the field of Self-Presentation, Internet Psychology, Japanese Language, Drawing Workshops, Efficient and Effective Communication and several others. Who will these trainings be for? For those who collect the most points in the Thinking Zone city game right after the end of the crowdfunding campaign. The students created a map with 6 districts of Gdańsk with a total of 72 questions and tasks, for which the participants of the game will collect points. Finally, they will create a list of people who have obtained the highest number of points. They will be able to exchange these points for courses, trainings and workshops as part of the Center of Thinking.

A few hours of fun on the second Sunday of January 2018 = a 3-month course on a topic of your choice! Everyone interested is invited to the game – children, teenagers and whole families!

As the middle school students themselves say: “And that’s right… What is this game? Answer questions about business, science or art in our city game. Play for development, the future or fun! Win attractive courses such as Internet Psychology, Japanese Language, Self-Presentation and Public Speaking Art. We want to show that everyone can help young talents develop. Your contribution will be an inspiration to show that the young generation can create large, innovative projects. Over the next month, we will be working hard! Become a part of our educational project and help others discover their passions!”

WE INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT THE FUNDRAISER. DETAILS ON THE WEBSITE: https://polakpotrafi.pl/projekt/gra-o?utm_source=search

Gdańsk took the fourth position in the “Best-performing Large Cities in Europe” ranking prepared by the American think-tank – Milken Institute. This is the highest position among Polish regions alongside such cities as London and Stockholm.

In the “Best-performing Cities in Europe” ranking that is the ranking of the most effective, the most dynamic or “the best performing” big cities (and actually cities and regions) in Europe prepared by Milken Institute think-tank, the strategies of individual regions were evaluated and the influence of their decisions on the rise in the number of jobs, increase in salaries, the level of production or the concentration of qualified services sector were checked. At the top of the list there was an eastern part of Inner London with Stockholm and Budapest completing the podium.

Pomeranian Voivodeship together with Gdańsk was classified in the fourth, high position! The factor, which influenced such a high position of our region the most, was the second highest employment growth in the years 2011-2016 (by 19 percent) among all big regions in Europe, as well as the sixth highest salary growth (by 26.5 percent in the years 2008-2013). Among the biggest assets of Pomeranian region there were, for example, “providing” by Gdańsk University of Technology and University of Gdańsk qualified engineers and other workers, or the biggest harbour in Poland, which is crucial for example in petrochemical, coal industry or in grains and ores trading.

The sixth position in the list was taken by Lower Silesian Voivodeship (together with Wrocław). 17^th place was taken by Greater Poland Voivodeship (together with Poznań), the top 20 was closed by Lesser Poland Voivodeship (together with Cracow). Just behind, in the 22^nd position, there was Masovian Voivodship.

<sup>Elaborated on the basis of:


http://next.gazeta.pl/next/7,151003,22735879,cztery-polskie-regiony-w-dwudziestce-najefektywniejszych-w-europie.html</sup>

Arrow Electronics – a global provider of electronic technologies – expands its activity in Poland. Its next step is a new office in Gdańsk in Olivia Business Centre. The activities of this American company are supported by Invest in Pomerania.

Arrow company with its headquarters in Denver (Colorado, USA) is one of the biggest providers of technologies connected with computer products and electronic components around the world. It has more than 465 branches in over 90 countries.

It develops innovative solutions for about 125 thousand leading producers of electronic technologies applied both at homes and in enterprises. It provides support to customers in such areas as, for example, business analytics, IT clouds, the Internet of things, space technology and defence systems.

New career opportunities

Arrow has been present in Poland for more than 12 years. It has its offices in Katowice, Cracow, Warsaw and Gdynia and now is opening a new office in Gdańsk. It will be located in Olivia Business Centre office complex.

– Gdańsk metropolitan region is developing fast and we are glad that we can be a part of these changes. When it comes to new technologies and future markets, Gdańsk is one of the most important centres in Eastern Europe, which was of key importance for us while choosing this location – informed Adam Stoch, Vice-President of Arrow Services sp. z o.o. Management Board.

The company will be looking for employees, among others, in the following departments: customer service, engineering, finances, human resources and logistics – supply chains.

– Arrow will enrich our region and labour market with new interesting offers and career opportunities. In this way, it will contribute to the development of modern business services sector, which currently employs more than 21 thousand people in Pomerania and is one of the key sectors in our region – underlines Mieczysław Struk, the Marshall of Pomeranian Voivodeship.

From the very beginning, Arrow’s activities are supported by Invest in Pomerania initiative, especially by the Pomerania Development Agency and Gdańsk Economic Development Agency (investGda).