iWorks Employees Connect During Virtual Spirit Week

By: Reetika Diwan

During the month of August, iWorks held a Virtual Spirit Week. If you think back to your high school days, Spirit Week was one of the best weeks of the year. Its roots trace back to 1952, in Palo Alto, CA. Palo Alto High School originally called it Friendship Week, to welcome back students. Since the 1990s, 75 percent of American high schools celebrate Spirit Week.

iWorks celebrated this tradition virtually for the first time due to the pandemic to engage employees through themed days and team building games and activities. Spirit Week breaks up the monotony of everyday office life, boost company culture, and bond coworkers with a week of fun.

Spirit Week kicked off with Superhero Shout Out Monday, where everyone was encouraged to don their superhero cape and share about a superhero in their life. Employees took a picture in their favorite superhero costume or with a superhero in their life (a friend, family member, co-worker, first responder, etc.) and shared with everyone on Yammer.

The next day was Dress Up Your Co-Worker Tuesday! Most of our employees have all sorts of new co-workers while we work from home. Since they contribute in various ways to our workday, it’s time they get dressed for work. iWorks asked their employees to pick one of their co-workers (family members/children, pets, house plants, coffee mug, etc.) and have them dressed for success in their best work attire and share photos online.

For Vacation Wednesday, amidst the pandemic, many of iWorks’ employees opted for a staycation or even no vacation this summer. Employees were encouraged to share, if they could have gone on a vacation this summer, where would they have gone? Employees shared a picture of themselves dressed up in vacation attire, or changed their background to a vacation destination.

Another exciting aspect of Spirit Week was Throwback Thursday, where employees shared old pictures with crazy hair styles or “what was I thinking” outfits.

On Friday, iWorks employees showed their support for iWorks by wearing iWorks colors (orange and blue) and brainstormed a new tag line to represent iWorks.

iWorks handed out rewards for participation – each time an employee participated throughout the week their name was entered into an additional drawing for a chance to win a $100 gift card that was awarded at the end of the week. In addition, each participant got a chance to win the daily gift card raffle to support a local, minority-owned, small business.

It was great to see so many employees participating. Setting up planned activities during an annual spirit week is a great way to help people break out of their comfort zones and get to know their coworkers better. iWorks is excited about the success of this event and we’re ready for the next one! Stay tuned for the next event!