One thing I have realized in the few short weeks I have been here, is—*gasp*— I genuinely like everyone I work with. Now, this didn’t confuse me until recently when I noticed an increase in the amount of complaints and groans whenever the topic “work” was brought up in my circle of friends. One commonality between their complaints was strikingly apparent, which is they are not particularly fond of their co-workers.

Becoming curious, I did a little top secret research to find out why, Frause is different. In short, we have a little something called workplace morale. After chatting with President Erika Schmidt, it is not a secret why we feel this way. Erika explained, “what is most important to me is that people own who they are, and we celebrate that. There are different kinds of smart and there are different kinds of creative. We need different people.”

Tuesday evening I joined assistant account executives Kate Hudson and Emily Nauseda as well as fellow intern, Andrew Hoge for happy hour on Capitol Hill. Beth Monaghan, principal at Boston-based PR firm Inkhouse says, “Happy hours are generally a great thing for employee morale and for getting to know your co-workers outside of the office.” I agree, considering after our outing, I was tempted to immediately plan another. I found that it was a great way to connect socially with my co-workers and learn about their personal lives. The things we chatted about were fascinating and I developed a new, personal relationship with all three of them.

In conveying my enthusiasm to the group, Kate and Emily confided that this is not a rare occurrence for the Frause team. They explained to me that Frause values their employees and especially their relationships with one another. Kate went on telling me her favorite outing with Frause was the Christmas party this past December. She told me that everyone dressed up in their tackiest holiday gear in efforts to be the gaudiest.  “The memory of Bob Frause dressed in a plaid kilt and a lady’s Christmas sweater, complete with shoulder pads, is an unsurpassed highlight,” Kate laughed.

Emily continued, recalling the annual Frause golf tournament she took part in last summer. “Before the tournament, the closest I had come to golfing was hitting used golf balls off of my parent’s roof with my grandpa’s nine-iron. Nevertheless, I was excited to spend a sunny summer afternoon with the office.”

Excited, I went into the office the next morning with a mission to continue my research. I asked Amy Graham about her favorite Frause memory. She replied, “Ride the ducks was a great experience because we all got to be tourists for the day and see our city in a different light.” I moved on to Katy Harrison who, without needing much time to think, told me about a time when Bob made homemade pasta in the office kitchen and the whole team gobbled it up for lunch. “I enjoy any activity that involves food,” Katy admitted.

From company picnics, to riding the big white tourist duck – at some point everyone needs a mental break. So plan lunch with a co-worker once a week or share a glass of wine when your work is finished. Doing so will not only reduce stress, but allow you the opportunity to make a new friend. People are much happier when they work with friends rather than strangers – take it from me.