The 28th January is Fun at Work Day! According to CIPHR, making your workplace more enjoyable has (unsurprisingly) many benefits. After all, happy employees are proven to be healthier and more productive.
As you’d probably expect from a creative company, Hallmark doesn’t limit the fun to just one day. So to celebrate this annual date, we thought we’d share 5 ways Hallmakers find fun inspiration around the office – including pet photoshoots, writing workshops and Mario Kart competitions.
Happy reading!
1) Inspired Office = Inspired Minds
We’re lucky to have lots of innovative spaces at Hallmark’s headquarters. Sometimes a different setting is key to beating a creative block – especially when the setting is covered with motivational quotes.
In December 2018, the HR team set a Christmassy challenge: decorate your desk in the most festive fashion. As anyone who walked past her gingerbread grotto would’ve guessed, Georgine Jones was the very deserving winner of this competition.
Georgine’s fabulously festive desk
2) Storytelling in the Studio
We celebrated National Storytelling Week 2018 with a studio-wide story. The Creative Team was encouraged to pick up pens and add another sentence to the tale, which began with the classic, ‘Once Upon a Time.’ Writers, designers, mock-up artists and digital asset co-ordinators all contributed to the epic yarn, which was proudly displayed in our office kitchen for weeks. You can read more about this collaborative project – including the final story – here.
In order to create new and inspired content, the Writing Studio holds regular internal workshops. Topics include ‘Time to Rhyme,’ ‘Writing to Visual Trends’ and ‘Ghost Story Writing.’ You can read the terrifying ghost tales here…if you dare!
3) Friendly Competition
Dedication. Motivation. Eye for Detail. All useful skills within the Creative Studio…especially when it comes to Mario Kart. Every lunchtime, the racing team competes for glory – while aiming to avoid banana skins. The winner gets the ultimate prize: bragging rights.
Beginners, pros and spectators can often be found cheering at the football table. And all bets are off when Finance FC play against IT United!
Finance FC in a heated match
On the last day of the week, Hallmarkers look forward to the Friday Quiz. Recent rounds include ‘Name the Herb,’ ‘Flags of the World’ and (the surprisingly tricky) ‘Can You Guess the Chocolate After it Got Crushed?’. The runners-up have the great ‘privilege’ of organising next week’s quiz.
The Writing Studio with their (non-crushed!) prize
You can test your own pop culture knowledge with the mini quiz below. Can you guess the iconic character from their Itty Bitty form? Some of these cuties will be heading to the UK in the near future – watch this space (and our online store!).
Answers at the bottom of the blog!
4) Food Glorious Food
For World Mental Health Day 2018, we held a Curry & Chaat in the canteen. Curry & Chaat is an (amazingly titled) initiative championed by Mental Health Foundation, a UK charity that researches and addresses the source of mental health problems. On the day, Hallmarkers submitted suggestions for improving the work/life balance – over a delicious curry.
5) Pet Photoshoots
Four-legged superstars regularly stroll around our office, draw the attention of our hardworking teams, and (literally) chew the scenery. And we wouldn’t have it any other way! You can read more about our pet photoshoots here – as if you needed an excuse to look at cute puppies.
Hope you have a tail-waggingly good Fun at Work Day!
Quiz Answers
The Cat in the Hat / Doctor Strange / Ripley
Groot / Sven / Cyborg
Glinda / Mary Poppins / Toto