Is Flexibility the Answer to 'summer slacking'?

New research by Dayforce on ‘summer slacking’ has found that 37 per cent of full-time UK employees find themselves less productive during the summer months. More than half of employees said their organisations offered summer flexibility to combat this, such as ‘summer Fridays’ or increased WFH, with 84 per cent agreeing they help to reduce burnout. Despite this, 86 per cent said they can’t always use these offerings due to being too busy.

Of course, with many people taking annual leave during the summer months, it not unusual for team productivity to fall. It can be an opportunity for teams to structure their outputs in a way that meets their needs – whether that’s a focus on internal workstreams or regrouping before returning to full tempo in September.

Flexible working policies are most effective where they provide a framework in which teams and individuals can design the flexibility that works best for them.

And our research shows that organisations achieving the greatest benefits from their flexible working policies do two things.

Their leadership consistently role-model flexible working – establishing it as a norm in their organisational culture. And people working flexibly progress in the organisation – demonstrating that working flexibly doesn’t damage your career.

Whether offering summer flexibility is a good idea, depends on the needs of the business and their employees.

But suppose an employer is offering summer flexibility and their employees are not using it. In that case, it may be time to review whether the policy needs adjusting or whether broader cultural norms in their organisation are making people reluctant to use the policies.

By offering a framework in which teams can balance the needs of the business and the needs of employees, employers support workers and boost productivity at any time of the year.

Read the article here.