Ginger Labs – behind the scenes

We work hard, but we also love to have a good time! We believe social events are essential in creating strong working relationships and help to foster an environment where employees can just be themselves.

Here’s a peek into some of the fun that happens at Ginger Labs!

Daily Lunch 🥗

In tech, it may not be uncommon for employees to get catered lunch. Here at Ginger Labs, we take walks to our favorite lunch spots and choose what we want to eat — because not everyone wants to eat the same thing as everyone else, right? We take lunch break seriously, especially the break! From assigning each employee a designated Game of Thrones character (this discussion got 🔥) to sharing neighbor nightmares, we’ve had a fair share of interesting (to say the least) discussions at the lunch table.

Friday Happy Hours 🍷

Our charcuterie boards can (and should) win awards. Our resident (self-proclaimed) chefs whip up the most perfect bite-sized concoctions. Fresh Acme bread is hand-selected from the Ferry Building and the fridge is always stocked with the most popular flavors of LaCroix and White Claw. Around 2pm everyone slowly starts gathering around the kitchen island and by 3pm conversations are ripe! Some happy hours are extra special — with Nintendo Switch karaoke, poker, and Draw With the Wind (a Pictionary-like game our engineers created with Notability during a hackathon event!). Happy hour is truly everyone’s highlight of the week, and could be yours too.

Team Outings ⛳️

Based out of San Francisco, it would be a crime if we didn’t take advantage of all the great weather we have! Our team outings are scheduled on a quarterly cadence, so in the warmer months, we typically try to spend that time outdoors! We’ve cruised the bay on a private Catamaran to swoon over the beauty of the San Francisco skyline. We’ve putted on Stagecoach Greens with our employees’ families (kids and furry friends included), and we’ve classily thrown Bocce balls at the courts by the wine bar. During the colder months, we’ve dined with the view of the Bay Bridge, tested our luck (or skill🤔) at bowling, and thrown some mean serves at Spin.

Regardless of the venue, we’ve always left with a handful of “remember when…?” stories that we’ll keep referring back to from time to time! It’s just like a family reunion, every time.

Virtual Events 🎩

In 2020, the pandemic hit and everyone’s “normal” lives were put on hold. So we did what we do best, improvise and innovate – and moved our events and activities online. First, we started small. By introducing what seemed like silly ice breakers into our weekly team meetings, we got to know our co-workers in ways we never did before (“you did WHAT?”) Then, a few months in, we hired a magician from New York who performed via Zoom. Who knew magicians can read your mind, even through the camera? 🎩 We learned to pull noodles with two lovely ladies from Shanghai, who performed a very legendary noodle pulling dance. This recipe is now a staple in some of our team members' kitchens! We became virtual apprentices to a Japanese artist from Barcelona, who taught us to stretch our imaginations and create mystical worlds with only a pen (no eraser) and tablet! Our resident artists then took turns sharing their skills with team tutorials in line art and kawaii dessert doodles! We attended our first virtual wine tasting event where we rocked out to great music and reflected on inspirational quotes paired uniquely with the notes in our beverages. The list of activities only continues to grow, as will the memories!

When we said we like to have fun, we meant it. Have more ideas on fun activities? Join us, and we can do it all together.