Have you ever considered offering summer hours to your employees? The aim of implementing something like this is to reduce the overall number of hours employees spend in the office during the summer months, without lowering your business’s productivity or revenue. Summer hours can take different forms—working extra hours Monday through Thursday and then having Friday off, for instance, or making every Friday a half-day.
There are many great reasons to try summer hours, whatever form your company decides to take. Let’s take a look at five key benefits.
It boosts morale.
When it’s warm and sunny outside and your employees are locked indoors, working away at their desks, it’s easy for the entire office’s morale to take a dive. But when you implement summer hours, your staff has something to look forward to. When your office morale goes up, employee satisfaction stays high and turnover is low.
It increases productivity.
You might think that productivity would decrease when employees have the promise of free Fridays or shorter workdays, but the opposite is true. Having a flexible schedule tends to make employees happier and more focused, and they’ll avoid burnout thanks to the longer break in between work weeks.
It offers more flexibility.
Summer is prime-time for family vacations and weekend getaways. And implementing summer hours gives your team members the opportunity they need to take those vacations. It will be much easier for them to plan their work around their time away, rather than taking a whole week off during a busy time of year like they might otherwise need to.
It promotes a good work-life balance.
Offering a flexible summer schedule is one great way to promote a healthy work-life balance for your employees. When a staff member is overworked, they become unsatisfied with their job. In turn, their productivity goes down. So maintaining a healthy work-life balance is essential for the very functionality of your business—summer hours can help facilitate that.
It fosters trust between supervisors and employees.
Last but not least, implementing summer hours lets your employees know that you trust them. You trust them to get their work done even with an extra day or half-day off in the summer, and you trust them to not take advantage of the situation. That goes a long way toward increasing morale and retaining your top employees.
Do you have questions about implementing summer hours? Want to find the top talent near you? Contact High Profile online or call us at 972-991-7900 to find out how we can help.