For many employees in the workplace, few emotions contrast more than Monday mornings and Friday afternoons. However, it seems that lately, perhaps corporate America might be turning around. Within the last 10 years, more and more attention has been dedicated towards creating an enjoyable work environment for employees. Companies now fight for a place on the Best Places to Work list. From elaborate cafeterias to built-in yoga studios, it seems that companies are molding their offices into self-sustaining resorts. A consistent goal among companies, now, is to keep their employees happy.  Why? It's pretty simple. Because when employees are happy, they are more productive and motivated.

Generally, for smaller businesses like Blue Archer, creating and maintaining a pleasant work environment is pretty obtainable without splurging on gourmet food (...although we wouldn't mind), or tearing down a section of the cube-farm to make space for a mini-skate park (seriously, the Facebook headquarters in California has one). Instead, casual dress, an open floor-plan, and occasional outings help to keep the employees at Blue Archer on the ball. On Friday July 13th, we had a stress-busting office day at Kennywood, a local Pittsburgh theme park. Yes, we dared to strap ourselves into those metal monstrosities on Friday the 13th.  Check us out! We lived to talk about it:
 

1. Employee outings provide stress relief, and people perform better and produce more quality work when they are comfortable and relaxed. 
2. Out-of-the-office activities help employees to better get to know each other and their personalities which in turn helps for employees to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. Hence, co-workers can better work together in a more seamless fashion. Bottom line? Things will get done. And, things will get done well. 
3. Bonding among employees aids in improving interpersonal communication throughout the office and helps to solidify a sense of teamwork.
4. Companies can help build a loyal employee foundation because employees will appreciate the business' dedication towards providing an enjoyable working environment.