Summer Flexibility Can Be Win-Win for Businesses and Employees

Summer is often associated with warm weather and relaxation, but for employees stuck in the office all day, summer doesn’t feel all that different from the other seasons. While long summer breaks aren’t always feasible, a little more flexibility and time off during this season can go a long way toward enjoying it more. By having Summer Fridays or a similar policy, employees get the benefit of more days to enjoy summer, while businesses can benefit from boosted morale and increased productivity.

These seasonal practices can vary greatly from company to company, such as by closing the office early on Fridays during the summer or granting employees a few extra days off to use as they wish during those months. In setting these policies, businesses have to determine what makes sense for their organization, but they may also want to consider gauging what their employees want in order to build a likeable policy.

And really these practices don’t have to apply just to summer, as there can be benefits to having increased flexibility year-round. But summer is at least a good starting point for businesses, as employees may want to take long-weekends to go to the beach or spend more time with their kids who are home for summer break.

How Businesses Benefit

More working hours is correlated with lower productivity per hour, according to the Economist, and some studies even show that working 40 hours could be more productive than a 60-hour work week as shown by Daniel Cook, chief creative officer at gaming company Spry Fox.

Even if employees aren’t working a ton of hours during the week, having Friday off could still be beneficial for some companies, as exemplified in this CNN Money article. As the article states, in a shortened workweek, employees may be able to increase their output during the days they are in the office, and the extra day off could lead to increased employee satisfaction.

And happy employees are approximately 12% more productive, according to research from the University of Warwick in the U.K.

Flexibility Is Key

Aside from granting employees more time off during the summer, businesses can also benefit by allowing for more flexible work arrangements, rather than a rigid schedule of when to be in the office.

In fact, flexible schedules were cited as the top summer benefit that employees want, according to a 2012 survey of workers and HR managers by staffing firm OfficeTeam. And aside from the 41% of respondents that said they want flexible schedules, 28% said leaving early on Friday is the top summer benefit.

Summer benefits could also be as simple as allowing more employees to work remotely.

For instance, work-from-home policies increase employee satisfaction, according to 87% of respondents to a survey by WorkplaceTrends.com, an HR research and advisory firm that surveyed HR workers and both employed and unemployed professionals. Plus, 71% of respondents said that these policies increase productivity.

So even though summer is already in full-swing, it’s still a good idea to try to increase flexibility or time off to help employees enjoy the season a little more. There’s still time for employees to enjoy the warm weather, but for those businesses that ignore the potential benefits of Summer Fridays or similar policies, they risk facing heat from employees rather than increasing their happiness and productivity.

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