At PAN, we pride ourselves on the fact that the majority of us (if not all of us) really enjoy the work that we do. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we skip to work every morning (some of us need our morning coffee before skipping is even a possibility); however, many of us wake up, feeling satisfied and excited to begin our day. It’s no secret that people that are unhappy at their jobs are not working their full potential. As Growth Engineering puts it, being unsatisfied with your job “is bad for you, your job prospects and progress, your colleagues, your boss and your company. And society. And probably your friends, too. No one likes a moaner.”

It’s true. According to The Atlantic, each year, the average American spends approximately 1,800 hours at work. So, it’s no wonder that our happiness relies so heavily on our satisfaction with our jobs. But it’s not just the work itself that our happiness depends on; the work environment and our relationships with our coworkers and peers influences our mood and general satisfaction with life. PAN has a great deal of initiatives in place to keep employees happy and to recruit new talent in search of a meaningful career as well as a fun, exciting environment.

Included in the list of PAN initiatives is a Red Sox game that PAN employees were treated to on Wednesday. A sporting event is a great place for everyone to come together and to root for one side. In some cases, opposing sides will emerge and certain arguments will be made in favor of one team or the other but this will only foster conversation and energetic banter in the workplace.

Before we left for the Red Sox game on Wednesday, people of all levels convened after work in our lobby to eat some pizza, drink some “beeuhs” and to talk about the Sox (or whatever other topics were on our minds). At 6:30, we finally looked at the clock and realized that we were going to be late for the game, which started at 7:10. Everyone looked at each other, and shrugged their shoulders, deciding to finish up their conversations before heading out. At this moment, it was apparent that we were all enjoying each other’s company. The baseball game served as an important catalyst for coworker bonding. We eventually made it to the game, where the Red Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins. We were bummed but came away from the evening feeling content and excited to come into work 10 hours later.