One of the corner stones of Mearra in terms of keeping the employees happy is to offer as many opportunities for stimulating motivation as reasonably possible.

In addition to the best tools for productive and efficient work, encouragement for self-development and of course the like-minded, carefully selected bunch of fellow employees, Mearra has begun to stimulate the employees on a whole another level as well: Mearra Sports Club.

Now that the year is about to end, I thought it was time to have something more relaxed written to accompany the more serious, closely business or technology-oriented posts. So if you are a fan of straight-up technical blog posts, this is maybe not for you.

The idea of organizing a monthly sporty gathering came up during our Summer Days this year. There is no exact memory of how the idea of a sports club actually developed and ended up being one of the things we really look forward to, but somehow it did. I do know that I innocently happened to suggest going horseback riding as a company. And not just any riding lessons, but an actual 2-hour stroll with Icelandic horses amongst the trees and all that sand. More surprisingly, people were really into the idea, making that our first ever activity as Mearra Sport Club.

After a hard day at work, what would be more fun and relaxing for the merry bunch of Mearrans than to collect their energy and head out to the stables! A lot, some might say. However, this is one of the points of Mearra Sports Club: we get to try out different and new things, test each other’s favorite sports and past-time activities, and most of all, share something unique with our co-workers - you never know, it might bring us even closer together as a team at the same time.

July was all about horses for Mearra Sports Club - it was warm and sunny and everyone was so excited to go. Since our horses were Icelandic horses, some of our taller employees wondered whether or not they would be kicking the ground... But those sturdy little creatures surprised us all with their ability to carry us and our expectations of horse powers pretty well. No-one even fell off the horse and everyone got to go as fast as they wanted - or at least those who had ridden before. Safety first, of course.

After successfully enjoying the nature on a horseback, it was time to get another perspective. And so we headed out to the sea with kayaks in August.

Against all odds, the thunder storm hanging above us the whole time we paddled along, only offered us amazing photographs and a few extra waves. That is, until we hit the shore again. Poor Cristian, having to ride his motorcycle home in that rain! Even so, kayaking proved to be yet another success and so we decided to further continue our club.

September was filled with other types of activities and we ended up organizing the Sports Club event totally in the last minute. Accompanied by our Latvian enforcements, we just went bowling. Sometimes you just have to go for it. Luckily, I ended up being in the winning team with those oh-so-lovely Turku guys. Talk about consistency, our talents  (read: their talents) just blew me away.

Hectic Autumn did have its setbacks, though: we seemed to have skipped October completely Sports Club -wise. But November really was a treat! We took private lessons at Helsinki Shooting Club. Two hours filled with guns, bigger guns, revolvers, James Bond -feelings, plenty of action, the smell of gun powder and candy. In my case, the sugar (and adrenaline) rush really helped me calm my nerves and even hit the target at least somewhere...

Each round, we got to choose our choice of a weapon - and there were lots and lots of possibilities.

Some of our more daring ones even wanted to give the less daring a heart attack when they eagerly tried out the biggest guns of the bunch. They were loud and they kicked back a lot. 

Enough said, it is time to get back to the more technical posts again - they are, in fact, our area of expertise. But I dare say this much: cultivating the body with as much new things and stimulants as we daily get for our minds from our work really does the trick. Happy employees are the result of a balanced mixture of business and pleasure. It goes without saying, being truly happy with your work has a lot to do with being happy with the things you do and the people you work with every day. 

And of course the dogs at the office have a huge impact as well.