How to Maintain Productivity in the Office during the Summer
While the warm weather has a positive impact on people’s moods, it can have an adverse impact on productivity. During the summer, productivity in the workplace decreases by 20%. Attendance also decreases by 19%, projects take 13% more time to complete and workers are 45% more distracted. This can have a big impact on your business, so we have provided some tips for encouraging productivity in your office this summer.
- Keep office cool
Being too hot in the office is one of the largest factors prohibiting productivity. It can cause dehydration, light-headedness and headaches. So to avoid this, ensure the office is cool. However, make sure it is not too cool. A neutral and comfortable temperature is key to productivity.
- Encourage employees to stay hydrated
If you don’t already, provide employees with free water to encourage them to stay hydrated and avoid dehydration.
- Consider offering flexible hours
Allowing employees to work when they want to will encourage them to be more productive when they are in the office. During the summer, people want to be outside during the day so they may wish to work earlier and finish earlier.
- Encourage employees to take annual leave
Encouraging employees to take time off and make the most of the summer months will allow them to feel refreshed and be ready to work productively when they return.
- Provide desk fans
If you do not have air conditioning in your office, providing desk fans is important to keep employees cool. They also allow employees to tailor the temperature to suit them as some people like it to be cooler than others.
- Encourage employees to take short breaks
Encouraging employees to take short breaks and reset their brains allows them to focus more and be more productive when back at their desk.
- Prioritise most important work in the morning
The morning is the most productive time in an office, particularly in the summer as it is the coolest part of the day. So ensure employees prioritise the most important work in the morning to ensure that it gets completed at the very least.
Great tips, Claire! Working in an office space that is not conducive enough to make employees as productive as possible could be a waste of time and money. The workplace environment affects the way we do work and as much as possible, we always seek for comfortability.
Great Blog! Very interesting, worth to read.