With the arrival of summer, and the blooming of nature, summer is an uplifting time of year that makes us all want to get out and about!
Of course, the desire to book your holiday and get away from the busy work schedule is something that everyone is looking forward to. With the relief of the summer season, the temptation to turn your concentration away from your desk and into your summer planning is tempting, to say the least.
In such periods, working in the office and long shifts can become a drudge. That's why one accountancy firm has decided to quit battling their employee's waning attention spans and allow them to leave early every Friday during the summer months.
Providing all their work is done, employees a free to leave from 12.30 pm onwards between 1st July and 31st August, and the new summer working hours have been a raving success.
Not only do over 90% of the employees think it is a wonderful idea, but they also report overall better well-being and satisfaction with their work and their employer - as bosses begin to recognise the productivity benefits of a better work/life balance for employees.
After all, humans are not machines, they need positive feedback and a reward system for good work that is in harmony with the natural needs of the human body and spirit.
Every employee has fundamental rights and freedoms and the emotional states that develop accordingly. The summer months are when positive emotional states reach their highest level, this means greater productivity at work but also a greater risk of burnout.
1. Summer Hours Give Your Employees Flexibility
The summer months bring longer days, and more opportunities to get things done in and out of work. It is also a time to take that dream holiday, have a picnic, tend to the garden and all other outdoor activities that can only be done in the sun.
Instead of fighting against this natural urge, bosses who allow their employees more time to tend to family-related matters during the summer are seeing a greater return in their employee's productivity at work - as workers come into the office less distracted and preoccupied with the ‘to do’ list waiting for them at home.
If you offer your employees working hours in a planned manner and leave flexibility in these hours, employees' motivation increases and they can concentrate better on what they are doing at work.
2. Summer Hours Increase Company Morale
''Summer Hours'' can be a great morale booster for employees who are stuck in the office during the hot summer months.
Setting the ''Summer Hours'' as a specific day causes employees to look forward to that day.
Their morale will increase as they feel they are being rewarded for a week well worked, they will maintain better productivity and at the same time feel valued by their company.
That's why ''Summer Hours'' is primarily for motivating employees, even though other unexpected benefits arise. Employee productivity increases in direct proportion to flexibility in working hours. The more comfortable and peaceful an employee feels the higher thier performance will be.
3. Summer Hours Increase Productivity
Flexible working hours applied in the summer months directly affect the performance of the employees.
When the weather is hot, and productivity decreases. This is normal in all human beings as the body works harder to maintain a comfortable temperature, and working in hot stuffy offices makes the situation worse.
"Summer Hours", for example, may require you to work full-time on some days, and shorter days on others. If your workers are free to limit their working hours on particularly hot working days so they can get out of the office early for a breath of fresh air, you will find that productivity remains stable, rather than taking the expected summer dip.
As a result, a job done with a rested mind makes your workers more creative and productive. In addition to this, employees are generally more motivated and focused when they return to the office, and teamwork and communication between employees and management become stronger.
4. Summer hours help eliminate stress
Working long hours in an overheated office can become quite stressful for some employees. The summer cycle naturally gives the body a boost, and mentally people want to be outside. Being couped indoors throughout the summer has negative mental and physical health consequences.
Stress-induced depression symptoms are very common these months, employees who do not have enough sun exposure can suffer the effects of SAD.
This inevitably causes people to get stressed, and even depressed in some situations. While stress causes inefficiency in the workplace, it also plays a negative role in the general course of the company if stress levels are high among the majority of the staff.
That's why introducing "Summer Hours" can play an important role in regulating your employee's moods and a general sense of well-being.
