Mental Health Awareness Day
Chicago
​August is wellness month and we had a couple of activities planned out to help us encourage wellness within the office. We had a beach day during which we took a walk to the beach, soaked in the sun, and even played a few games of beach volleyball. We had a yoga session to encourage physical activity and movement. We also had a massage day to reduce stress and encourage self care. And then we went for a baseball game (White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs – two of Chicago’s big rivalries) to encourage relaxation. We topped it off with a Thoughtfulness Day where we encouraged colleagues to share a gift card with someone they wanted to show appreciation to in the office.
Miami
Mental health is one of the elements that shape us and our personalities. It is the component of our entire being that determines our actions and how we perceive our surroundings. Even though mental health is a significant part of our life, it is still considered taboo to openly talk about. On Mental Health Awareness Day, the Miami office spent some quality time together as a team to reflect and share some of the experiences as well as take part in mindful and engaging activities.
San Diego
On World Mental Health Day, the San Diego office enjoyed a healthy breakfast together.
Canada
October has been a wonderful month for raising awareness. On October 10, our four Canadian offices came together to focus on their mindfulness for World Mental Health Day. Between a virtual chair yoga session and a healthy breakfast, it was the perfect opportunity to reaffirm the importance of tending to our overall wellbeing.
Prague
October 10 was World Mental Health Day at the Prague office, the occasion to gather for a healthy lunch and share small gifts to enhance wellbeing and care!
London
On World Mental Health Awareness Day, we organised a healthy breakfast for the London office. We chose Pure as the supplier. Since its 2009 opening, they have always put sustainability before profitability in terms of employment, packaging, food preparation and their stores’ environment set up.
On October 23, the London Office partook in a guided Mindful Painting Session led by Creative Team Events. The aim of the session was not only to teach everyone to paint the still life scene set out before them, but also to be guided through methods of incorporating breathing, flow, creativity etc. It gave everyone a welcome break in the day, got our week off to a great start being Monday afternoon, and great fun was had by all.
Cyprus
​On World Mental Health Awareness Day, the Cyprus office gathered for a healthy breakfast in the backyard.
Halloween Celebrations Around the Group
Barbados
We hosted a Halloween office shindig where pods brought in theme coloured food platters and looked ‘Spooktacular’.
Chicago
We had a pumpkin carving competition and encouraged the office to wear costumes on Halloween.
Montreal
To end the month, our Montreal offices celebrated Halloween… but not without a little bit of competition! The Montreal, West Island, and Laval offices took part in a costume contest. The creativity and imagination across all three offices was a sight to behold, from teams channelling pop culture references to some classic Halloween costumes. First place went to the West Island team for a particularly well-done tribute to a certain Summits director in Montreal, with teams and members from the Montreal offices taking second and third respectively. Congratulations!
San Diego
On Halloween, we dressed up for work. Kaya Acker was the winner of our Halloween costume contest.
Sydney
The Sydney Team embraced the Halloween spirit with a mix of characters from Ninjas to Shrek, Ghost Rider to Pirates, and even a few Devils in the mix. It was a spooktacular and creatively charged celebration aimed at sharing some Halloween joy!
Kuala Lumpur
We had a spook-tacular time at our KL office this Halloween, with some of our enthusiastic staff taking the initiative and joining in on the Halloween fun!
Tokyo
We had a ‘murder mystery’ Halloween party in September, as we had three summits in October, held in a haunted house.
A murder mystery is a game solving a crime, through clues, investigation. Unfortunately, we came one step away from solving it.
London
On Halloween, everyone had some chocolate and sweets. We also hosted a Best Desk Decoration competition with a skeleton trophy and prizes for the top three desks.
Cyprus
On October 31, the Nicosia office hosted a Bingo & Beer Halloween Charity Event, featuring a Best Dressed contest won by the spooky grapes costume. The bingo game raised funds for PASYKAF, adding a touch of fun to a charitable event.
DIWALI
Mumbai
The Mumbai office celebrating Diwali.
Kuala Lumpur
We all had a fantastic time celebrating our Diwali gathering with delicious food and drinks. It provided a wonderful opportunity to get to know our new staff members and mingle with our colleagues. Diwali brought us together in the spirit of togetherness and joy.
London
The office was decorated for Diwali and people were invited to wear traditional attire if they wished. We all enjoyed delicious traditional sweets.
SOCIAL - OTHER EVENTS
Chicago
Trivia Tuesdays
We have had this tradition going since the beginning of summer. Every Tuesday, we play a round of trivia. Initially, it was match-up knock out trivia, and now we are doing the 1% club where questions increase with difficulty.
Book Club
We started off an office book club! Every month we have a book of the month that we vote on to read, and at the end of the month, we sit down and discuss the book and our feelings towards it over lunch.
Mexican Potluck
To celebrate Mexican Independence Day and Hispanic Heritage Month, we held a potluck which included walking tacos and our favourite Mexican/Hispanic foods.
The Office Olympics
This is a fun engagement activity we had in the office where we divided the office into groups and had them compete in different activities from coming up as many words from ‘marcus evans’ to the coffee run race.
​Grand Rapids
​Our team building was a great success. We collectively chose to attend a Detroit Lions Football Game, and a Victory as well!
San Diego
​We attended a local bee workshop, where we learned how raw honey is extracted and ends up on our kitchen table. We took home honey made from a farm right in our backyard in Southern California!
Montreal, Laval & West Island
​Another one of the many highlights of these last few months has been our wonderful teambuilding event on August 11. Our three offices gathered to take on a daunting task: successfully breaking out of an escape room. The Montreal team put its keen communication skills to the ultimate test as they collaborated to solve puzzles. After such an endeavour, they were treated to the perfect reward: drinking on a lovely terrace with their teammates to foster existing and newfound connections alike.
Barbados
Office Teambuilding – The Barbados annual teambuilding activity in August was a fun day filled with beach games and a relaxing catamaran cruise up the West coast.
In September, we hosted a Back to School dress up day where we had classic games and snacks.
Mumbai
We hosted a quarter end party - with the full enthusiasm of the entire office. It was great to have different departments mingle and shake a leg on the dance floor. marcus evans Mumbai got their Bollywood moves out.
We also celebrated mum-to-be Aina Dixon by throwing her a mini baby shower, and wishing her love and happiness before she goes on maternity leave.
Tokyo
We had a farewell party for Tomoyo Tosaka, who worked with us for 2.5 years. She was a senior sales executive for DA, a thoughtful person who always took care of even the smallest things. She has gone back to her former job as a CA at Japan Airlines. If you meet her in the air, please say hello!
Sydney
Every Friday, our break room becomes an arena of excitement as colleagues gather around the ping-pong table. Rackets in hand, we leave behind calls and emails for a while and dive headfirst into the fast-paced world of table tennis. Here’s a glimpse of the sponsorship team game. Whether you’re a seasoned player with a wicked spin serve or a beginner just trying to keep the ball on the table, everyone is welcome. It’s not about who wins or loses; it’s about the thrill of the game and the joy of sharing it with colleagues who’ve become friends.
Cyprus
The Cyprus Office ended the summer with some ice cream and beer in the backyard. This event was the perfect opportunity to unwind, cool off and brought everyone together in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.
End of September, we also had some drinks and bites at Vino Cultura, a wine bar near the office.
​Barcelona
The Barcelona office spent an amazing team building day at a BBQ place located in Mataro, on the lovely sunny Mareme coast, north Barcelona. We spent all day grilling, playing some cricket and football, and chilling under the sun! The day ended at a chiringuito on the beach for the remaining, bravest souls!
Cape Town
’There’s power in a team. We are better together‘‘. The Cape Town Research Team had an out of office activity, where we enjoyed some games and fun activities.
We also had team lunch and bowling at The Grand West Bowling centre. We started the afternoon with team lunch then hyped ourselves for the grand event. We were divided into groups from various departments and competed for the top prize! A few hours of fun and many minutes of laughter!
At the end of October, South Africa won the official 2023 RUGBY World cup back-to-back. We had a sweepstake in the office for the duration of the tournament. Every participant had drawn a country and at the end we announced a winner. Congratulations to our winner Siphokuhle Mhlobo from Marketing Research – she won herself some cash! Well done!