Where kids play and parents work: Inside an innovative Athens co-working space

“Mom, I need to tell you something.”

If you’re a work-from-home mom, you’ve likely heard this phrase a million times, as your child – no hesitation – interrupts your train of thought, your creative flow, or even an important transatlantic video call. Unexpected disruptions, delivered with varying degrees of diplomacy, are a daily reality for those working from home, even when kids are surrounded by peers or older carers. A tooth that suddenly wiggles, a secret that needs to be shared immediately, or a noise from the neighboring apartment that must be investigated – these are just a few of the inventive scenarios my daughter dreams up to get me to look away from my computer.

These thoughts cross my mind as I head downtown with her on the last day of the Christmas break. Our destination is the WHEN Hub, just a four-minute walk from Omonia station. Will we both be able to have a productive four-hour stretch under the same roof?

Parents at work

It’s about 10.30 a.m. and the “mini-hub” is welcoming its visitors. Anna Konstantinou, a play facilitator and the mini-hub’s operations manager, goes over the rules: Children join in activities while their parent or guardian works within the building. They can take breaks to check in with their parent, have a snack or rest. On the third floor of the neoclassical building, there is a specially designed parent-child room.

“We call it the nursing or isolation room, but it’s designed to meet any needs children might have at this age, such as taking a moment to calm down away from the others’ gaze,” explains Iphigenia Papamikroulea, the hub’s manager.

Playtime during this pilot phase runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the team accommodating up to eight children at a time. “I have five experienced volunteers who support the program in shifts throughout the day to meet the needs of children of all ages,” says Konstantinou.

The separation process is generally smooth. “Even preschoolers are usually familiar with these kinds of routines – they’ve been to play centers, parties or extracurricular activities. Of course, we give them time to adjust when needed.”

And that’s exactly how it goes with my daughter, who sends me off to work before I can even say goodbye.

With my daughter’s approval, I settle into an office space on the first floor, where two other adults are already working. If I am needed, I’ll be notified by phone or SMS. So, I get to work transcribing an interview, aiming to finish within an hour. At noon, I have a scheduled video call with an overseas source.

At WHEN Hub, in addition to co-working desks, meeting rooms, small-team offices, a podcast studio and common areas (kitchens and restrooms on each floor), there’s a dedicated phone booth. This comes in handy – I can talk freely without disturbing anyone and catch every word of the conversation.

It’s now 1 p.m. and I haven’t been interupted once!

Equality and empowerment

I use this “window of opportunity” to refill my coffee cup and chat with the mastermind behind WHEN Hub and co-founder of Women on Top, Stella Kasdagli. Women on Top is an organization working for the economic and professional empowerment of women and for gender equality and inclusion in the workplace.

“The need for a co-working space with parallel activities for toddlers and children occurred to me in 2015 when I was pregnant with my second daughter. I started researching similar spaces abroad,” she says.

Indeed, such spaces were slowly starting to appear in Europe and the US at that time. “Some were nonprofits, others weren’t. The most interesting model I found was in Paris, funded by state vouchers.”

As time went on, working conditions shifted drastically and remote work grew globally. According to Statista, in 2023, 8.9% of workers in the EU worked from home, with women leading at 9.5%.

“We’re trying to find a balance so that the initiative is financially sustainable while keeping our services affordable,” Kasdagli explains. WHEN Hub was made possible with significant support from the Alliance for Gender Equality in Europe, which includes the Bodossaki Foundation, as well as financial backing from The Hellenic Initiative, various companies and individual donors.

“We serve parents working remotely for large companies, freelancers, small teams without their own office, Women on Top beneficiaries, and many digital nomads who’ve embraced our initiative,” she adds.

The hub was created to promote gender equality and empower women, as reflected in its full name: Women’s Hub for Empowerment & Networking. However, it’s also open to men, whether they’re parents or not.

The location was thoughtfully selected to benefit all city residents equally. The WHEN Hub team is working on additional changes to make the space even more parent- and child-friendly, like extending the mini-hub’s hours, offering bundled services, and partnering with large companies to “rent” desks for their employees.

Wrapping up

It’s now 2 p.m. I’ve finished my tasks, but the same doesn’t apply to the mini-hub participants’ schedule, which started with painting and Play-Doh and concluded with Sudoku, memory games and Lego. So, I patiently wait for my daughter until 3 p.m., and we leave after I assure her we’ll return soon. 

To learn more, visit hub.when.org.gr.