Dear reader,
In November, our company took a break from our busy journalistic schedule to enjoy a well-deserved rest. To get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the entire newsroom journeyed to a small city near São Paulo for our end-of-year celebration.
These get-togethers give us the chance to spend time with our colleagues outside the office environment — or behind a computer screen. And getting everyone together is no mean feat! A considerable part of our newsroom is not based in São Paulo, and we even have Ignácio in Buenos Aires! But after a year of hard work, it was essential that everyone was together for this special occasion.
So, for our loyal subscribers, we decided to give you a closer look at this event, and all the work it took to make it happen. As always, if you enjoy this content, don’t forget to like and drop us a comment. Are get-togethers like this common in your country? And you can always tip us a coffee if you like to stay updated on work culture in Brazil.
Best regards,
The Brazilian Report Team
The "confraternização": an important date in any Brazilian company's calendar
Back in May, we posted a special newsletter all about work culture in Brazil. There, we explained that work and personal life here are often close together: it is common for Brazilians to talk in detail about their families, bring their children to work, add colleagues (and bosses) on social media, etc... And the end-of-year “confraternização” encapsulates all of this.
Literally translated as "confraternization" (not really a word in English!) it is a moment for colleagues to enjoy each other's company without the pressure of the daily grind. In the U.S. and United Kingdom, office Christmas parties are common, but Brazil likes to take things a bit further. Some companies organize whole weekend trips for their team, including drinks by the pool, games, karaoke and, of course, Secret Santa.
Last year, after the hardships of the pandemic, The Brazilian Report decided to get everyone together for a four-day mini vacation in a remote area of São Paulo state. And we did the same this year, staying in Cotia, just outside the city. For the second year in a row, we had a proper Brazilian churrasco, which meant trusting the mastery of chef and TBR editor Euan Marshall, while listening to plenty pisadinha, funk, axé and pop tunes. At night, it became a tradition to make a karaoke competition, including smash hits in English, Portuguese and Spanish, thanks to our Latin America editor Ignacio!
We also had the opportunity to exchange gifts in our early Secret Santa, and every team member got a special surprise from our company: a journalist's survivor kit! In the pouch, there was a power bank with extra charging cables, a coffee cup, a notepad, a pen, and lots of other useful goodies.
Needless to say, it takes a lot of effort and logistics to bring so many people together for a long amount of time. That’s why we talked to our CEO Laura Quirin, who took the lead in organizing the event. Laura Quirin’s expertise lies in business development in emerging markets. She worked six years in China for French companies before moving to São Paulo. As the founder, Laura is the key decider of The Brazilian Report’s business strategy.
TBR: Where did the idea of the get-together come from?
LQ: “Confraternização” is a big thing in Brazil! Every company organizes a sort of bonding moment, or, in other words, a corporate gathering at the end of the year. Brazilian people like partying, and every occasion is an opportunity to celebrate. But usually a “confraternização” is consolidated into a party with all the team, hosting a Secret Santa, having drinks and chilling.
Since the second year of the company, we have hosted a Secret Santa. But as the pandemic hit and made us work remotely, we’d have to be creative, because we had no contact with each other. During this period, we hired a few people, but didn’t get to know them personally. We only had occasional online “happy hours” during one year and half. So, at the end of 2021, as the second doses of the vaccines had rolled out, and after a year of bad news, we decided we would organize a stay all together to commemorate and relax for a while. And that’s how our first “confraternização” came to be!
TBR: What was the main motivation behind it?
LQ: To gather people, connect for real, and create great memories after all the hard news we had to cover.
In five years, we had an impeachment, a transitional government, four years of a government not friendly to the press, a pandemic, and the Election of the Century in October… I think that our team deserved a proper break.
TBR: Do you think it differentiates The Brazilian Report from other newsrooms? How?
LQ: I can’t talk about other newsrooms, but maybe we are different in the sense that our newsroom is small enough, so we can give this opportunity to our journalists to get to know each other in person, independently of where they are. We flew everyone to São Paulo from Brasília, Maceió, and even our Latin America editor from Buenos Aires, for those two last years. Everyone enjoyed a four-day stay in a villa with a swimming pool and great activities.
I can’t tell if we’re different from other newsrooms, but I’ve heard a few times that journalists coming to work with us were surprised by how peaceful and chill the work environment is.
Oh, I was also happy to hear that our company gifts are very cool compared to other newsrooms!
TBR: How long does it take to organize?
LQ: That’s a tricky question. Usually this type of gathering takes a minimum of 6 months to organize. I admit that my six-years experience in China coupled to my almost seven years in Brazil allowed me to become a very proactive and adaptable person. This is quite funny when people point out that I’m French, as usually it takes decades for the French to make a simple decision!
But to answer your question, I organized everything from A to Z within two weeks. It was complex, but thankfully, I have enough event organizer experience, so I knew how to do it in a short time span. The only thing which needed to be anticipated was the place, which we booked back in September. We had 11 people in total, so not every Airbnb can receive this many guests. I selected 5 venues, and the team voted on them.
TBR: Which part of the process of organizing it do you enjoy the most?
LQ: Every bit was interesting to organize. But the greatest one was the “survival kit” which was given to our journalists: ten useful goodies had to fit in a bag.
We had some problems in the beginning, as we couldn’t find everything we needed from one supplier, so I had to buy them separately. The result was stunning, but my favorite reaction was to see how happy the team was as they received the gifts. “Christmas before Christmas,” as one of our journalists said.
TBR: What's the most challenging part?
LQ: The most challenging parts, because there were different challenging things, were the birthday cake, the gifts and the transportation to the Airbnb.
The cake needed to be fresh, so I had to find a baker near where we were staying. We were not in São Paulo city, which was quite a challenge. Luckily, I found a nice lady who did the job perfectly! And this was absolute luck as she was 10 minutes away by car from our Airbnb.
The worst periods of the pandemic might be over, but factories are still adapting to the demands in the current economy. So finding a sweet shop which would accept to produce small quantities in a few days was very tricky. But I managed to buy them separately and everyone loved it in the end, and that’s what matters most!
Also, to find a van that could bring all of our journalists to our stay was quite difficult. Our gathering happened on the same weekend as the Formula 1 event in São Paulo. In other words, most vans were already booked! Luckily, I had talked to an Uber driver who was an entrepreneur and let me know about his uncle’s transportation company. This is the magic of Brazil: everyone knows someone who can help you.
TBR: What would you like to do differently for a get-together in the future?
LQ: I think that those two ones were quite different as it marked a post pandemic and our 5-year anniversary. The next ones will be simpler, for sure!