The first time I saw DuckWorks preparing for Halloween, I thought people were just excited about wearing costumes.

I was wrong.

By the second week of October, people are already talking about ideas. Teams coordinate group costumes, sketch props, buid things and there might be someone who has a secret project they’re trying not to reveal too early.

Then Halloween arrives, and something surprising happens.

People don’t just show up in costume for a photo.

They work in costume all day.

That detail says more about our culture than any LinkedIn post ever could.

A Tradition That Grew With the Company

One thing I learned while talking with people across DuckWorks is that this wasn’t always a massive production.

When the company was around twenty people, Halloween was simply about showing up dressed differently for the day. But over time, it evolved into themed days, costume competitions, and a full week that people look forward to months in advance.

The interesting part isn’t that the event became bigger.

It’s that the enthusiasm grew with it.

As one leader put it, even as the company becomes more corporate, keeping traditions like this helps preserve the joy and youthfulness that made people want to be here in the first place.

Creativity Already Lives Here

Something else became obvious while collecting these perspectives.

Our team is full of architects, industrial designers, engineers, and people who naturally enjoy creating things. Halloween gives them a place to use those skills differently.

One person described it perfectly: the same passion people put into building a costume is the same passion they bring to projects.

That connection matters.

The costumes aren’t separate from who people are professionally. They’re another expression of the same creativity that already exists inside the company.

What Pictures Don’t Show

If you only saw photos from Halloween, you’d probably think it was just a fun costume contest.

You wouldn’t see the weeks of conversations beforehand.

You wouldn’t notice teammates helping each other build props.

You wouldn’t hear someone walking across the office just to say, “I love your costume,” and accidentally starting a friendship.

Several people mentioned that Halloween becomes an icebreaker. People learn each other’s hobbies, personalities, and sense of humor in ways that rarely happen during normal workdays.

Sometimes the simplest conversations become the beginning of stronger collaboration later.

Why It Actually Matters

From an HR perspective, this is the part I find most interesting.

Almost everyone I interviewed described Halloween as a stress reset.

Not because work disappears. The work stays exactly the same.

The difference is that people experience the workplace differently.

Research consistently links shared positive experiences with stronger psychological safety and better workplace relationships. At DuckWorks, you can almost watch that happen in real time.

Teams coordinate together.

Different departments interact more naturally.

People become more comfortable asking for help afterward because they’ve already connected as people first.

The event doesn’t replace good teamwork.

It strengthens the relationships that make teamwork easier.

More Than an Event

One answer stayed with me.

Someone said Halloween reminds people that the company cares about them beyond their work.

I think that’s exactly it.

When I asked what someone should understand after seeing DuckWorks Halloween for the first time, the answers kept circling the same ideas: creativity, confidence, teamwork, community, and being unapologetically “badass.”

I’d add one more.

Halloween isn’t proof that we’re good at organizing events.

It’s proof that culture isn’t something you announce.

It’s something people choose to participate in.

And when people voluntarily spend weeks planning costumes they’ll wear while working all day, I think they’re saying something much bigger than “Halloween is fun.”

They’re saying they want to build this place together.

Alejandro Loza

HR Business Partner