At most companies, your first week on the job means paperwork, handshakes and more paperwork.

During my first week at Mixte, I got high fives, sipped champagne and solved a murder. (Don’t worry, nobody was hurt in the making of this blog post.)

I quickly learned that Mixte finds joy in hard work and takes fun seriously. Instead of handing me a list of best practices, the Mixte team led by example with their proactive approach.

Instead of having me shadow someone for a week, the Mixte team encouraged me to join brainstorms, meet clients and ask questions every step of the way.

Instead of hosting a typical holiday party with communal punch bowls, an awkward gift exchange and small talk, the Mixte team spent an afternoon at House of Hints doing make-believe detective work followed by communal champagne bottles and an only semi-awkward gift exchange (only semi-awkward because all the gifts were too awesome to choose just one).

I’ll admit I was a little anxious about playing a “live escape game” with seven strangers. But I not only survived the afternoon solving riddles, I learned that Mixte is not kidding around about bringing fun into our work. We help each other, we solve problems together and we laugh – a lot. I love seeing how my new coworkers bring this approach to life both on and off the clock.

Of course, there was also some paperwork to read for my new job. After a work party that involved cracking locks, I wasn’t surprised to see the last line: “Mixte expects work life to be fun.”