Keeping Your Employees Focused Over the Summer

Summer fever isn’t just for kids itching for the school year to end.  Adults can certainly become afflicted, too.  Being stuck in an office all day when the sunshine is calling can be a difficult thing to endure- especially if you’re the boss.  Keeping your employees engaged throughout the summer can certainly feel like a job itself.  Here are some tips to make the summer days in the office seem a little bit shorter:

• Work on a summer schedule.  If you have the ability to allow employees to work from home or you can offer extended hours in exchange for a day off each week your employees will be able to schedule vacations more easily.
• Offer incentive.  While you always hope for the best from your employees, it may take a bit more in the summer than just the promise of a weekly paycheck to keep them working at 100% every day.  Incentive might be the prospect of leaving 30 minutes early from work on a Friday to beat the shore traffic once that report is finished.  Or it might be first pick of next week’s hourly schedule.  And remember that praise for a job well done can go a long way as well.
• Encourage outdoor breaks.  If your employees are used to eating lunch at their desks or spending time in the break room, encourage them to get a little sunlight outside instead.  15 minutes of sun can be just the boost they need to keep going the rest of the day.
• Schedule some employee engagement activities.  Sponsor a softball team.  Meet for happy hour after work.  Set up friendly team building competitions.  If the work place feels less like work, the less your employees will try to get out of it.
• Keep healthy snacks in the office.  While coffee and a cookie might sound great during that afternoon slump, a glass of water and an apple might just be all it takes to get through the rest of the day.  Healthy foods can be real mood boosters.

We hope you will try these tips and let us know how it’s going this summer!

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