Most people look forward to summer. The warm weather, and summer fun can be distracting and decrease productivity in your business. It can be a challenge to keep productivity and employee motivation high during the summer months. Having a flexible work schedule like

  • Working ten hours for four days, and getting one day off
  • Working nine hours for four days, and getting half a day off
  • Enforcing core hours, and allowing employees to arrive and depart at their own times
  • Varied start and/or end times on a daily, or weekly basis
  • Or allowing employees to work longer one day to make up for a shorter day of work to fulfill a 40 hour a week requirement

can increase productivity and motivation during the summer. Here are some reasons why flexible work schedules during the summer might be something worth considering in your company:

It’s What Employees Want

The majority of employees list the best summer benefit as having a flexible work schedule. Try surveying your own employees or simply asking them in one on one meetings, to see if a flexible schedule is something they would be interested in. Don’t waste time and resources providing benefits that your employees don’t want. That will simply make them feel ignored and discouraged. Listening to your employees’ desires will help them to have more trust and confidence in you as a leader.

It Benefits the Company

Employees with flexible summer schedules become better at balancing home and work life. Also, when you provide a flexible schedule it promotes trust in your workplace. Your employees trust you to do things that help them. You better trust your employees to do work without the need for micromanaging or inflexible rules.

Additionally, having flexible hours increases employee productivity. It allows your employees to work at the time they’ll be most productive. And the majority of employees will feel more motivated and responsible for their work.

It Improves Employee Health

Time spent in the sun is scientifically proven to increase happiness. It triggers happiness chemicals in your brain that also lead to better productivity. Another health benefit, is sleep. Natural light increases the quality of sleep. Having more awake employees will boost the productivity of your company.

Flexible summer hours may not work for every company, but consider how you can increase the flexibility in your workplace. It may be the answer to your summer productivity problems. Collaborate with the leaders in your company to determine if this is good for your company culture.