Improving productivity is something that all business owners should be concerned with. The traditional thinking here is that the more hours we work, the more wealth we’ll generate. But there are considerable flaws in this approach, since long hours tend to correlate with poor productivity.

Do the summer months affect productivity?

These flaws are especially prevalent during summer, when you might find yourself staring longingly out of the window when you’re really supposed to be getting some work done.

There’s evidence to suggest a dip in performance during summer. Attendance might dip, productivity can decline, and there’s a widely-reported fall in motivation, and an uptick in distraction.

Given this seasonal decline in productivity, it makes sense that employers take a slightly different approach at this time of year. One strategy is to implement something called a ‘summer Friday’.

What are summer Fridays?

On a Friday that’s been designated a ‘summer’ Friday, employees are granted a little more leeway when it comes to scheduling and attendance. They’re especially popular in workplaces where the workload is variable, and employees can be granted the right to leave work early, or to not come in at all. Schemes of this sort have been piloted and many have enjoyed spectacular feedback.

The advantages from an employee’s perspective are fairly obvious. Summer Fridays allow for superior morale, better work-life balance, and the sense that one’s employer is trusting enough to allow workers to make their own decisions. All these perceived advantages will make it easier to hire competent staff looking for an employer that’s accommodating and flexible.

How to make summer hours work for your business?

Offering reduced hours at certain times of the week is going to impose a cost on your business. But in many cases, you can recoup this cost elsewhere. If workers are going be allowed to go home two hours early on a Friday, then you might have them work for half-an-hour extra on the other four days of the working week.

In certain industries, like construction, this can make sense. The shape of a given project will often determine the amount of work that needs to be done on a particular day. Having specific tasks arranged and planned for the entire week will allow you to plan exactly what needs to be done, which can in turn motivate employers to make the effort to do them. If workers know that they’re going to be rewarded with time off at the end of the week, then they might work harder to achieve their objectives.

Of course, this makes any delays and disruptions earlier in the week more difficult to contend with. For this reason, preparation is critical. Having access to spare tools and batteries, for example, might make those delays less likely to manifest. You can pick up a spare Milwaukee battery for a reasonable sum, and have it shared by multiple employees to limit the cost.