Nearly Half Of Workers Say They’re Less Productive During The Summer
Summertime and the livin’ is easy, right?
At least 41% of workers admitted they’re less productive during the summer months.
In a survey of 2,838 full-time employees based in the U.S., Canada, and UK, four in 10 workers admitted to being less productive overall, while 35% revealed that they tend to slack off when their boss is OOO.
3 remote roles to apply for
●Senior Accountant – Remote, GOhiring GmbH, Germany
●Project Coordinator (Remote), GTT LLC, MA, USA
●Senior Account Manager – Remote, Carrot Pharma Recruitment, ENG
It also seems as though there is a generational divide when it comes to summer slacking: 75% of workers believe younger workers are more likely to take advantage of summer flexi time than older workers.
This is despite 58% of people reporting that their employer has offered them some form of summer flexibility to accommodate a seasonal slip-up in motivation and productivity.
These include flexible work hours or a flexible schedule (32%), increased work from home options (22%), summer Fridays (19%), and seasonal work-from-anywhere options (17%).
While the option to work from the beach or poolside instead of at your desk might seem like the perfect (and extremely tempting) solution to the problem, the vast majority of workers (84%) say that while the so-called fixes seem great on paper, the reality is that a third (30%) are too busy to take time off, and 24% say there’s no one to cover their work if they’re not there.
Even more sobering is the fact that 23% of workers are concerned about the negative perceptions from managers or colleagues if they avail of reduced working hour options during the summer.
So if you can’t take time off but feel your motivation is waning as the mercury rises, the only real option available is to manage your time during working hours so that you stay focussed and complete tasks on schedule.
Easier said than done but there are plenty of ways you can boost productivity. These include the Pomodoro Technique, a time-management method whereby you work in short 25 minute bursts followed by a five minute break.
Alternatively, “scary hour”, is a concept that involves doing your hardest tasks first thing in the morning, before you start anything else.
3 flexible roles hiring this week
●Remote Accountant (Part-Time), Supporting Strategies, USA
●Part-Time Sales Advisor, CareCo, Newcastle upon Tyne
●Group Financial Controller (Hybrid), Lyreco Management SAS, Marly, France
If neither of the above work for you, you could always adopt “monk mode”, the productivity hack that has recently experienced a resurgence on TikTok, and requires participants to ignore outside distractions by organising their work time into blocks.
Crucially, you shouldn’t look at your phone during this time to avoid mindless scrolling or the distraction of answering messages.
Or why not try productivity software instead of your usual to-do list. Sites such as Asana or monday.com allow you to organise and prioritise tasks as well as set up schedules for your work.