Would You Bike? Or Work?

One morning in 2010, Bryan and I were riding our bikes to work (picture a gorgeous day on Coast Highway in Carlsbad with an incredible view of the ocean – the occasional dolphin pod delighting us – yes, this is our life) talking about the fact that May is “Ride your bike to work month.”  Big cyclists ourselves, we thought how cool it would be to have a Sonic Boom celebration where we encourage our Boomers to bike … OR … work.  A play on the typical “Bike to work Day,” “Bike OR Work” would give our Boomers the option:  you can bike with us to lunch – yeah, we buy, and yeah, you can have a margarita or two – OR you can stay and work.  Guess what most people do?!? 

And so it was born.  An annual Boomer trek to a fantabulous Mexican restaurant in Carlsbad Village, where the only rule is that we can’t talk about work, and that we need to mingle with people we don’t typically work with.  There are some who can’t or don’t ride bikes, and they have the option of driving part-way and walking or running the rest.  Did I mention that all of this takes place on one of the most beautiful coastal routes in the country, and – well, we’re in Carlsbad, which means it’s always perfect weather? (Again – yes, this is our life!)

While we’re all about TCH (Total Client Happiness) and providing the best member/client service on the planet, there may be a day in May when you call in and hear an always-chipper-amazingly-energetic Boomer giving you a recorded message:  “We’re out for Bike OR Work Day… please leave a message.”  I hope you won’t be annoyed, but will appreciate that our Boomers are enjoying a bonding experience unlike any other.

Bike OR Work Day isn’t the only day we have fun around here (big surprise, huh?). We frequently host healthy potlucks and charity clothing drives, and we celebrate Boomer Appreciation Day and “Make a Boomer’s Day” Day every year. We also host quarterly team-based challenges with bonus days of PTO on the line. Are all of these events necessary? Probably not – but we think it’s important to not only talk the talk of employee wellness, but to walk the walk as well.  Check back to learn more about how we #WalkTheWalkOfWellness each and every day.