How PwC Calgary gets through busy season

As you’ve probably heard, January through March at PwC is a busy time of year. As many of PwC’s clients have year ends of December 31 the few months after tend to be filled with longer hours than normal.  To help get through these few months, the social committee in Calgary ensures that there are lots of social events to reward everyone for their hard work.  Busy season is not an easy time of year for PwC employees, but these initiatives help to make these few months a bit more manageable!

The social committee tries to plan events every couple of weeks during busy season to help everyone relax and to get people together. We kicked off busy season at the start of January with a party in the office to welcome the new associates and two weeks later held another busy season social at a local pub after work. We have also planned busy season socials every two weeks which start at 4:30pm on Fridays where food and drinks are provided at a nearby bar or restaurant. The socials are really well attended with staff ranging from the associate to Partner level and give everyone a chance to catch up.

Along with the socials planned through February and March, the social committee also organizes outings to two hockey games. The first game is on February 11^th and is against Vancouver and the second one is against Colorado in March. There are 50 tickets available to each game and the spots always fill up quickly.

The last two events planned in March are a Ski day at Sunshine and a trip to Aussie Rules. For those of you who don’t know, Aussie Rules is a piano bar with a lot of audience interaction. The Aussie Rules night starts with pizza and drinks at the offices after work and then everyone take a bus to the Piano Bar. Near the end of March, the Audit and Assurance Group (AAG) hits the slopes for a change of scenery and spends a day skiing/snowboarding at Sunshine in the mountains.

PwC recognizes that busy season is a tough time of year for its employees as there are long hours and a lot of deadlines which results in these few months being more stressful than most but having frequent social events is one of the ways the firm tries to make the time easier by giving staff events to look forward too.