As the weather gets warmer and schedules fill up, summer slacking often sets in at the workplace. A new study by Dayforce, a human resources software company, found that 36% of full time employees in the US say they are less productive during the summer and 34% say they slack off when their boss goes on summer vacation.
In order to address these concerns and meet the needs of their employees, many companies embrace summer flex policies that give employees increased flexibility in their schedules during the summer months.
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According to the study, nearly 60% of US employees say their workplace offers some form of flexibility, such as Summer Friday's or increased work-from-home opportunities.
These opportunities for increased flexibility can have tremendous benefits on employees and their organization. The study found that 83% of US employees say summer flex policies help to reduce burnout. Additionally, 70% of employees say they value flex options more during the summer months than any other time of the year.
Despite these positive findings, nearly 79% of employees reported that they can't always take advantage of these flex offerings at their workplace. The study also found that a large majority – 81% – of employees say there are negatives to flexible summer work policies.
For example, 29% of employees said they experienced difficulties getting their work done without coworkers nearby. The study also found that 24% of workers said they experienced increased anxiety from doing more work in fewer hours. Finally, 23% of employees said they felt frustration from wanting to take time away, but not being able to.
Donnebra McClendon, Global Head of Culture and Belonging at Dayforce recommends that organizations looking to support their employees and encourage them to take advantage of summer flex policies should utilize clear communication, secure buy-in, abide by the right to disconnect and monitor progress over the course of the year.
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