Can work be fun?

The first of October was full of changes for me - a new job means a new environment, new coworkers, new daily tasks, a massive learning curve - a lot to manage all at the same time. For the first time in my life, what's made it surprisingly easy for me is actually the work environment itself (this includes the coworkers). It's a relaxed, empowerment-oriented place that operates more often than not like an extended, yet close family.

Take our company Christmas party as a case in point. My work holiday party experiences from the past have either been a) massive affairs where you holed up with people you knew for the entire evening, only because there were so many people there that mingling was way too uncomfortable, or b) non-existent. So imagine my surprise when I found myself preparing for a full afternoon and evening of traditional Christmas activities that included the whole staff!

A group of us started out by traipsing over to the City Market for CBC’s annual live broadcast. And yes, this is a picture of us singing “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” to the entire Maritime listenership (my apologies to those of you who heard me).

Afterwards a couple of the guys ran up the street to King Square where they bought our 9’ Christmas tree – and manhandled it up the three flights of stairs to our office! Trimming the tree was a staff affair with almost everyone contributing – either by doing or directing. By the time the tree and the rest of the office were festively decorated we had enough food out to feed a small country, and enough “cheer” to wash it down.

During the afternoon staff family-members, other tenants in the building and some of our community partners started dropping in. It was so friendly and relaxed that everyone had a chance to mingle without obligation or anxiety. And meeting all of those new people really enhanced the fun for me!


We ended it all with a trip to Harbour Station for a Sea Dogs hockey game. A winter storm had been tormenting Saint John for most of the day so we were all very grateful for our heated pedway system (for readers not familiar with the city you can walk most of the Uptown core without ever setting foot outside – ideal for bad weather days)! It was an active game to say the least – battle for first place with Halifax, I counted six fights but I think I missed at least one. By my estimation everyone had a fantastic time and a few brave souls even kept going after the game.

So the long and the short of it is that I apparently work not only in a community where life is on my terms, but also with a group of people who live and work that message. What a way to start the holiday season – Happy Holidays everyone!