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Keeping team spirit alive in the time of COVID-19
from Contact 06
SKAO HQ staff, like many of our colleagues around the world, have spent much of this year working from home. This brings challenges for everyone regardless of their personal circumstances, and many miss the camaraderie of our office environment: running into people in the corridors, chatting over coffee or sharing sweet treats to mark birthdays. In recent months SKAO’s Recreation Committee and others have organised a series of events to recreate that friendly, inclusive atmosphere virtually for staff and their families.
In September, the committee organised the annual Macmillan Coffee Morning in aid of the UK charity Macmillan Cancer Support, raising more than £2,000 in donations. Traditionally a great occasion to gather together over hot drinks and cake, this year’s virtual event had an added competitive edge, with staff voting for their favourite creations rather than eating them. The winner was a cupcake topped with an SKA dish!
The SKA bake off for Macmillan Coffee Morning was won by Operations Scientist Dr Shari Breen with her SKA dish cupcakes!
Credit: SKAO
The following month brought the spooky celebration of Halloween, and the creative challenge of a pumpkin carving contest for staff and their families. For many it was their first attempt at this annual tradition – an ideal opportunity to ‘upskill’ during the pandemic. There was once again a space-themed victor: a pumpkin carved with a ringed planet, stars and a rocket!
December in the UK brings icy temperatures and darker evenings, making it perfect for the silliest fundraiser in the calendar, marked by workplaces, schools and community groups nationwide: Christmas Jumper Day. For a third year, SKAO staff dug out their cosy knitwear embellished with reindeer, Santa Claus and other festive motifs to raise money for the international charity Save the Children, which carries out life-saving work in more than 100 countries.
2020 has kept many of us apart, but these small events remind us that we are all part of the bigger SKA family, and that our sense of community still exists remotely and is very much alive.
