Having fun at work has always been a serious matter for me.

At Living Tours Group, we've built a culture that not only allows people to have fun, but actively encourages it. This focus on the fun and dynamics of business has made us a challenger brand since day one.

Our playful spirit has driven intelligent disruption, sparked innovation, created brand love, built trust, helped people feel connected, and brought out the best in all of us.

Making room for fun really comes down to allowing people to be human at work. You can't build a healthy business if you don't have happy people, so building a “fun workplace” needs to be more than a recruitment tool.

In fact, treating people well is simply the right thing to do, regardless of any type of business.

I love to see how our Living companies embrace this spirit of fun and put their people first.

In our weekly meetings of the Executive Board of the Living Tours Group, we always discuss, on an equal footing, new ways to bring fun, inclusion, creativity and innovation to the group. It has been a powerful way to boost morale and inclusion.

In team or company-wide brainstorms, we discuss all things culture, belonging, purpose, and the importance of having fun at work.

We also discussed the qualities we look for in the people of Grupo Living. As I said, we are always looking for team players, optimists and risk takers. People driven by strong values, kind at heart and who feel strongly aligned with our purpose. This is much more important to us than educational achievements or even professional experience.

We view diversity as one of a company's greatest strengths and want people from all walks of life to feel that they belong at Living and know that they can bring their different skills and life experiences to their roles. It is this diversity of thought, combined with passionate, purposeful, kind and optimistic people, that really sets our people apart.

I was surprised and amazed to learn that every year we organize approximately 30 different activities, including teambuildings such as karting and paintball, summer parties with the Living Summer Party, at the end of the year Gala dos Galos D´Ouro where we permeate and make known top talent for areas we value, our Xmas Party, team appreciation events like Living Stars of The Year, general Living group brainstormings, Living Leadership brainstormings, business area and departmental brainstormings, Company anniversary, activities bimonthly by business or departments such as dinners, teambuilding activities and others. I think it's brilliant and the feedback the team has been getting has been overwhelmingly positive.

We were able to build a genuine sense of camaraderie in a very diverse group of people from different regions and countries around the world. People are very passionate about creating a workplace that is inclusive, supportive, productive and enjoyable. And that's exactly what we did.

It's wonderful to see how a volunteer battalion created by people, for people, can have such an impact. It's also great to see how fun at work can break down barriers and create more inclusive workplaces.

We continue with the excellent work of having fun and we believe it is a serious function of our professions! We hope this has inspired everyone to make a little more room for fun and a lot more room for inclusion in companies.

#SomosLiving