MondayFunday: Leprechauns and Moms
It’s been a busy spring for the ExactHire team, but we managed to fit in 2 MondayFunday events. March featured a cut-throat Nerf shootout (sounds violent, but I can assure you it was not), and April saw us channel our calm, creative, contemplative sides as we painted and decoupaged (?) picture frames for the mothers in our lives. Two extremes, I know, but both activities helped us accomplish our planned objectives: We had fun!
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb
The Nerf shootout in March saw the arrival of tiny leprechauns and pots of gold. The “range” was improved by moving it to the larger conference room–prompted by anonymous complaints regarding the “too tight confines” of November’s Turkey Shoot. It seems the anonymous complainers believed that a larger space would give them a better chance of defeating the “Turkey Shoot Champ”, Allen.
But that was not to be. The larger range certainly made for more variety in target positioning, but this hardly helped anyone gain an advantage over “Deadeye Al”–as he’s since been named by at least one anonymous team member, allegedly. Anonymous allegations aside, Allen certainly was impressive at the range. He hit 5 out of 6 targets for a winning score of 55. When it comes to a nerf battle, “Deadeye Al” is someone you definitely want on your side.
Though spirits may have been low after yet ANOTHER win by Allen, we ended on happy note by wishing happy birthday to Susan and Nancy. While I cannot release actual birthdates or ages, I estimate that the two were celebrating birthdays of somewhere in the range of 20-100 years.
Susan takes careful aim, but no one could match “Deadeye Al.”
April Is for Mothers Because May Is For Racing
The fun committee labored long in brainstorming a MondayFunday activity for April. The meeting became so tense that at one point a committee member punched a hole through the dry erase board, then through the wall, and finally into the office of Jeff, who is still suffering from light facial abrasions, allegedly. Assault allegations aside, the committee finally decided that with the centennial running of the Indianapolis 500 in May, there was no other choice but to move up a Mother’s Day tribute to April.
Plans were made to decorate picture frames for the leading ladies in our lives. Darythe provided a number of glues, glitters, paint, and stickers from her vast, private collection of arts and craft supplies. A hot glue gun was even available, though Jeff hoarded it for much of the time. But despite the scarcity of hot glue, several team members succeeded in creating some very beautiful frames that will no doubt be displayed with great pride on the mantles of the recipients or in their most prized storage tubs.
At this point, you may be exclaiming inquisitively, “But what about the MondayFunday competition for April, Tom!?” Well, an anonymous member of the Fun Committee came up with the idea of a hula hoop competition for the Golden Vase. This idea passed narrowly through the committee by a vote of 1-1, with one member abstaining, and the tie-breaking vote going in favor of the hula hoop idea because the dissenting member punched a hole through the whiteboard/wall.
The hula hoop competition was awkward. Maybe it was the office setting. Maybe it was grown adults doing something they hadn’t done since the age of 8. Maybe it was just me. But rather than describe that awkwardness, and thus re-live it myself, I’ll just leave it at that. It was awkward. And the anonymous Fun Committee member who conceived the idea won the competition by a substantial margin.
So the past two MondayFundays have been a little competitive, a little sentimental, and a bit awkward. Mixed results for sure, but ultimately they were FUN! Hopefully you can add some of these ideas (not the hula hoop) to your list of employee engagement activities to support a fun, vibrant work culture that wards off the ever-threatening “case of the Mondays.” We hope you check back in next month to see what we have planned to celebrate the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500!
Monday Funday is one way in which ExactHire seeks to build and grow a fun work culture. Each month–on a Monday of course–we recognize the workiversaries and birthdays of our team. We also participate in creative competitions that sometimes turn fierce.
We will share recaps of these events via our blog in an effort to spread the word that Monday can be a fun day. But we also want to know how you have FUN at your workplace too. So add that in the comment section below. Our Fun Committee is always looking for ideas!
