Encouraging a culture of flexibility: Summer schedules can often mean a shift in routines. Keeping your business agile and flexible by encouraging flexible working hours or compressed work weeks can help create and build trust in employees to manage their time and stay motivated at work. Here is a guide to Flexible Working Policies that can be used to adapt into your own policies and processes.

Introducing summer hours: Implementing summer hours in a business such as allowing employees to finish early on a Friday, can offer massive benefits with minimal disruption to daily operations. The opportunity to start the weekend a little earlier creates a strong sense of reward, appreciation and trust which in turn, boosts morale and motivation. Employees often return to work on a Monday feeling more rested and engaged, which can lead to improved productivity and focus. From a business perspective, there is very little impact on work output and can be easily managed with proper planning.

Managing overlapping annual leave in your team: During the summer months, many people tend to schedule their annual leave, which can create challenges in managing workloads. While it’s essential that everyone has the opportunity to take well-deserved time off, it’s equally important to ensure that ongoing responsibilities are effectively managed in their absence. 

Wellness in the Workplace

To avoid disruptions and maintain productivity, it's crucial to develop a clear and collaborative plan for workload coverage. This might involve redistributing tasks, setting priorities in advance, or temporarily adjusting deadlines to ensure that the team can continue to function efficiently while supporting each other's time away.

To support those who are working while others are on annual leave, consider introducing some in-office initiatives to help manage stress and enhance wellbeing:

Midday walking meetings: Encourage fresh air and movement while keeping collaboration flowing. These walks can spark creativity and offer a break from screen fatigue.

Outdoor team activities or wellness challenges: Host step-count competitions, lunch picnics, or team sports to promote camaraderie and a sense of fun like Mind’s active challenges that you can participate in.

Mindfulness or meditation app subscriptions: Support mental well-being with tools that help employees manage stress, recharge, and stay grounded like Calm and Headspace.