Happy and healthy people behind WPML and Toolset plugins – Part II
April 18, 2018
We all work remotely and keeping a good work-life balance is important for OnTheGoSystems, and our scholarship program continues to promote it.
Last year we had this post about how our company members are using this program where we also explained what the program was exactly about. We want to focus more on “doing” things, whether that’s courses people have always wanted to try or taking part in enjoyable activities to become healthier and/or more physically active.
In all, we continue to encourage our Team members to do enjoyable things that move them away from their PCs, and I’d like to share here some of our colleagues’ experiences as a way to encourage remote workers in general to have a healthier lifestyle.
Have you ever heard of Buti Yoga?
Lauren Jeffcoat, our WPML supporter and Training Leader, used the program to become an instructor.
This year, I used my scholarship budget to apply for certification for Buti Yoga. Somehow, amazingly, I passed! I had an amazing weekend with a great group of girls. I made friends who I will keep in touch with for life, had an INSANE workout, and now can share this practice with others. For those who are not familiar with Buti Yoga, it is not anything like traditional yoga. It’s cardio, plyometrics, dance and yoga all in one. This is my demonstration that I had to do in order to pass, if you’d like to see a snippet.
The pictures are the group of all the girls attending certification (8 of us passed the certification):
I would not have been able to do this without the assistance of the scholarship program. I am so grateful.
Fresh air and green plants after work, the ideal retreat.
Our administrative assistant, Helena Petriou, uses her scholarship program to do something that she really loves and finds relaxing: gardening. Our admin lady with her perfect English tells us about her new passion:
Well, I’m not so athletic anymore and I had to give up my great passion which is horse riding. I really wanted to join the Scholarship program so I took up gardening. I love the fresh air, to see green plants growing, the feel and smell of the soil as I work with it, the aroma of fresh cuttings. The Scholarship program helped me to take up a gardening course at our local garden center. My garden is not very big but it keeps me busy digging, pruning, raking and lifting. An all-round workout! Plants are quite fussy about where to put down their roots and flourish. There are no rules, but lots of experimenting. It gives me much pleasure to see a precious cutting take root and sprout fresh leaves.
We have planted some trees which a few species of small birds now call their home. From my office window, I can hear our new feathered friends gossiping and even warning each other about feral cats looking for an easy meal. My garden is a lovely place to sit and relax with a cup of tea (homemade iced lemon in summer) after work!
From colorful gardens to high-peak mountains…
Our UX guy, Jakub Milczarek, loves the mountains and spends most of his free time there. No wonder he used the scholarship for mountaineering.
A few years ago I started my own project – Crown of Europe. The idea is to reach the highest point of every European country. I have already managed to reach 34 out of the 47 highest points in Europe!
I enjoy both high mountains and even small ones – mountains are always nice in the summer and challenging in winter. I often walk up mountains alone so I can clear my mind and rethink many things but on other occasions I’ll hike with a group of friends and share adventures with them :)
Jakub has shared a link to his Crown of Europe list, and he also shared some photos.
Here he is on the top of Triglav (2,864 m – the highest mountain in Slovenia) and doing some climbing exercise on High Tatras in Slovakia.
Getting carried away by Afro dancing…
Mercedes Barreda is the person replying to you if you are a user needing help with your WPML or Toolset accounts. Outside working hours, Mercedes loves to dance Afro music, apart from loving being a mom too.
I love to dance. I discovered afro dancing several years ago. I have danced for several years. When I became a mum I quit, but it did not quit me. I really got a hold on dancing Afro. After like 6 years I returned, reloaded, and now I have been dancing again for more than a year, thanks to our Scholarship program.
I don’t think I am ever as happy as when I do this… I just get so carried away by the percussion that I can definitely say it’s one of my biggest passions :) Below there is a photo of me dancing Afro in our humble, warm end-of-the-year exhibition.
Taking advantage of flexible working hours
Shemek Mirota, one of our expert developers from Proxy team, is enjoying a longer break which he uses to go the gym and exercise his body.
Since I spend so much time sitting (programming) in front of the computer, I decided to use my scholarship for a gym pass. To motivate myself, I’ve bought a six months pass – there is no excuse now.
I think that we should take advantage of the fact that we are working remotely. In my case, I start 1 hour earlier than usual and take a longer break to go to the gym and eat lunch. It works better for me, because in the evening I was too tired to go to the gym, and the break in the middle of the day allows me to clear my mind after the first half of the day.
I hope that the next six months will be really good for me and my body.
Want to be part of our company?
At OnTheGoSystems, we know that what you do in your free time is as important as what you do at work. That is why we have provided this Scholarship program for each of our employees to take up an activity they are passionate about.
Would you like to be part of our company and try and fulfill both your professional and personal life goals? Look for open positions here.
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