Dragon Boat Racing is a lot more brutal than it looks. While a good team will look like they’re effortlessly and rhythmically gliding through the water, they’re still pushing their bodies to the limit … Just watch some of our SLayers try to hobble around the office today, and you’ll see that the competition wore us out. The experience was more than just a good time (and a reason many of us are still sore); it reinforced to several of us — especially newer employees like me — that SoftLayer is more than just a “company” or an “employer.”

SoftLayer’s founders wanted to create a an environment — a culture — unlike any other, and from my perspective, they were phenomenally successful. You don’t have to take my word for it, though. SoftLayer is a regular on those “Best Companies to Work For” lists, specifically because the company encourages employees to get smarter, get healthier, have fun and and enjoy coming to work. Now that I think about it, I need to get the management team to provide some free Bengay the next time we get out in the dragon boats!

The dragon boat races provided me an opportunity to meet and get to know some of the SLayers I hadn’t met yet, and it was wild to see how quickly we shared a sense of camaraderie and pride to be SLayers as we raced down Buffalo Bayou in Houston.

Beyond the fun and physical exertion of the weekend, one valuable lesson I think we all took away from this experience is that staying “in sync” can prove to be difficult at times. Once we learn to anticipate each others strokes, we became a stronger team … The obvious parallels to our day-to-day responsibilities at SoftLayer should speak for themselves.

I’m proud to be a SLayer and thankful that SoftLayer creates both an extraordinary place to grow our careers and an awesome environment to make great friends. I hear we might be planning to continue this tradition, and if so, SoftLayer can count on us to be there to support our coworkers. If you’re interested in joining us, we have positions for all sorts of skill sets (and I’m proposing we give additional brownie points to applicants with rowing experience)!

- Cassandra