For International Men’s Day, our India office took a different approach. Instead of a webinar or panel discussion, the team spent an afternoon playing cricket, real cricket, with competitive energy and the kind of workplace camaraderie that emerges when people step outside their usual roles.
Issues like men’s mental health and workplace pressure deserve genuine attention, but these conversations often get reduced to corporate initiatives that feel more performative than meaningful. Our India team chose a different path: creating space for authentic connection through sport.
Why This Reflects AnyMind’s Culture
AnyMind operates across multiple markets, each with distinct cultural contexts. Our approach to supporting our people isn’t built on standardized global programs, it’s built on empowering local teams to understand what resonates in their markets.
In India, cricket is a cultural touchstone. When our India team proposed marking International Men’s Day with a cricket match, it reflected their understanding of what would genuinely connect their team. This is central to how AnyMind operates: we give our teams the autonomy to make decisions that reflect their people and their markets.
What Happened
Sport breaks down professional hierarchies quickly. Between overs and during breaks, conversations unfolded naturally, concerns about family health, questions about career direction. These weren’t facilitated discussions. They were organic conversations that happened because the environment allowed for them.
The statistics around men’s mental health are sobering. Companies can’t solve these issues alone, but we can create environments where people feel comfortable being more than their job function. Not through forced vulnerability or mandatory sharing sessions, but through optional space for genuine connection.
The AnyMind Approach
We’re scaling rapidly across multiple markets, but we maintain the agility to make decisions that prioritize our people. We understand that culture isn’t built through corporate communications, it’s built through actions that demonstrate what we value.
There were no breakthrough moments that afternoon. But something more valuable happened: people showed up as themselves. International Men’s Day at AnyMind India was one team, one afternoon, one cricket match. But it reflected our broader approach: trust our teams, act on what matters, and don’t confuse activity with impact.