The warmth. The sun. The flowers. The vacations.
Who doesn’t love this time of year?
One word: Bosses.
If you’re finding that the “school’s out for summer” mentality has crept into your workplace, you’re not alone. Summer is a notorious time of year for productivity slumps – but that doesn’t mean you have to accept it.
With a little creativity, you can stop the summer “brain drain” from derailing your company’s performance. Use these ideas from Wood Personnel to get your employees out of their chairs, out-of-doors and out of a productivity decline.
Inside
- Add more play to your employees’ day. Put a ping-pong table in the break room, or install a Wii. Create a game cabinet, or set-up a puzzle table. Longer games can be continued from day to day. Games provide a welcome break from routine, relieve stress, and give your staff a chance to get to know each other by relating in new ways.
- Flex summer work hours. When the sun is shining, everybody loves to get a jump on the weekend. Add an hour a day to employees’ schedules Monday through Thursday, and then make Fridays a half day. Offer this option to half of your employees one week, then the other half the next week, to ensure adequate coverage on Friday afternoons. Summer hours can do as much for morale and productivity as any bonus can.
Outside
- Make meetings mobile. Research shows that motion stimulates ideas. Support employees’ fitness and give their creativity a boost by encouraging your staff to walk while they talk. All you need is a nearby park or walkable urban or suburban neighborhood.
- Create a company garden. Motivate employees and help them relieve stress by allowing those who are interested to spend an hour or two each week tending a company garden. Rotate and share responsibilities to build teamwork and keep the project from becoming a chore. Come harvest time, you will all get to enjoy fresh flowers in the office, and delicious vegetables to take home or donate to the local food pantry!
- Hold a field day. Get the whole staff outdoors for a fun day of friendly competition. You can go the highly organized route, or take a more casual approach—like an old-fashioned neighborhood block party. In either case, be sure to include activities for people with a wide range of abilities. And don’t forget to include everyone in on the planning—that’s half the fun!
Give one of these opportunities a try, and you just might turn that summer slump into a winning streak. Or, just give Wood Personnel a call to learn more about our Murfreesboro staffing agency. We can relieve your staff of time-consuming, repetitive or administrative burdens that bog them down and zap productivity.
