Are your employees struggling to stay motivated? Are they longing to be outside, on the beach? Are they lacking in engagement and productivity because the only thing on their mind is the warm summer breeze? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, chances are your employees are experiencing the Summer Time Blues.
According to Business Insider, a study produced by Captivate, found that productivity in the workplace drops 20 percent during the summer. Looks like students aren’t the only ones singing “School’s out for summer.” Keeping your employees motivated to continue to drive productivity in the summer can be a daunting task, but below are a few tips to follow (if applicable for your place of work) that might just help continue and possibly increase productivity:
1. Implement an extra casual day
Chances are since it is summer, it’s hot. Let your employees feel the breeze a little more by implementing a ‘Casual Thursday’ (along with Friday) or a ‘Jeans Week.’ This will help employees feel more relaxed throughout the day, rather than sweating in their slacks.
2. Allow Employees short breaks
Employees who work in a cube may not have a window, but even if they do, chances are they are just yearning to be outside and smell fresh air. Allow your employees to take a few 5 minute breaks throughout the day just to get outside and feel the breeze and sunlight. Odds are when they go back inside; they’ll feel refreshed and be more motivated to finish their work allowing them to leave on time.
3. Team Building Exercises
A majority of companies already emphasize the importance of team building exercises, so to keep the team morale up throughout the summer months. Try and implement one every Friday (or a day that is convenient for your team). Even if just for 30 minutes, the team will return to their desk happier with a boost of energy to get back to work. For example, something as simple as playing Taboo can get your employees motivated. This will help employees work on team work and communication.
The Summer Time Blues CAN be defeated. Let’s use this to our advantage and not only ensure that productivity increases, but use it as an opportunity to mix up the daily work schedule. If even just implementing these ideas for the summer, employees will feel appreciated by the fact that their leaders care to keep them engaged, happy and motivated.
What are you doing to improve employee morale?