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The Fun Initiative: Helping Brighten Things up at Work

Jul 28, 2020 • 3 min

When you are faced with a strange, new situation, where you focus your energy on is even more important than ever before. As the news of the virus started spreading, it became clear that it was going to change the way we worked for the time being. It also affected how we communicate with each other, as face-to-face meetings with our friends and colleagues became a very rare occurrence.

The People team’s tasks at RELEX have always been centered amongst many other things on our colleagues’ wellbeing. Mental and physical wellbeing became big focus points, as RELEXians found themselves working from home fulltime rather than going to the office. Interactions with colleagues outside people’s own teams decreased drastically and for some disappeared completely. This is where the Fun initiative comes in.

A small group of people from the People team came together to gather ideas on how we can keep people’s spirits up and make sure everyone still feels a part of team RELEX. In no time we had ideas for live events, clubs, quizzes, challenges and more where anyone who was willing could join in. Throughout the spring and early summer, we brought people together with similar interests in virtual coffee breaks and discussion groups, where the subjects varied from our furry roommates to books and tv-shows. Holidays were also celebrated online as the 1st of May gave us a chance to put together a live event, where our CEO raised a glass with people joining from their homes. People got to see each other and share memories of their past 1st of May celebrations. Cinco de Mayo and the 4th of July got our colleagues from the US to get together as well. This year instead of a regular summer party, we got to still cheer for our colleagues who were chosen as recipients of RELEX’s Spirit Awards.

The quizzes and challenges we created are bringing out people’s competitive side as well. The quizzes are taking place weekly. They are short and fun little energy boosts during lunch time. Our challenges require people to complete a small task and provide picture evidence of it. As people perform these physical and sometimes just silly tasks, their colleagues get to vote on the winner. Instead of a prize the winner gets to choose a charity they would like to support, and a donation is then made in their name.

As the fall is getting closer and our colleagues are returning from their summer holidays, we are eagerly putting together new events and other opportunities for them to connect with each other. Any smile or laugh we have been able to initiate is a huge win for us, and we wish to continue doing so. No one should feel left out, as we are all part of the same team at RELEX.

Written by

Matleena Boral, Office Assistant

Matleena works in RELEX’s People team. Her tasks vary from office upkeep at the Helsinki office to employee-related business and cultural events. Her favorite part about remote work is pajama pants.

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