The warmer weather, sunny days, and an abundance of daylight hours probably have your employees running for the door. Or at least daydreaming about an outdoor happy hour and being at the shore. Summertime brings the conversations of vacations and time away from work.
Consider offering a few creative schedule options to promote your employee’s work-life balance. Especially if the company is not able to offer a robust time-off policy, flexible work options could be an attractive engagement and retention tool.
Unfortunately, business needs may not allow for every option. But, they don’t have to be impossible. The best flexible work programs have strong policies with guidelines to support them. You will need the buy-in from leadership and the support of managers to ensure the programs are successful.
Here are just a few options that would be great for your summer months.
Flex schedules
In a work environment where closing down the office for a day isn’t an option, flexing the team’s schedule is an alternative option. Keeping the spirit of a long weekend in mind, one team member could compress their hours Mon-Thurs to have shortened Fridays. Then the other team member compresses their hours Tuesday through Friday then come in later on Monday or have the full day off. A flexible work schedule that also aligns with the business needs could be a benefit for the organization as well.
Summer hours
Adjusting your office hours during the summer months is a great option for professional offices. Typically, hours are adjusted Monday through Thursday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The office then closes early on Fridays or is closed for the full day. It may not be a feasible option for all business functions that have to operate consistently. Summer hours still give a flexible work option that jumpstarts the weekend for employees.
Remote work
Technology makes it easier for us to stay connected from anywhere and everywhere. We no longer need to be tied to a desk to get the job done. Giving employees the option to work from home or just remotely breaks up the monotony of working in the office. It can also relieve the burden of finding childcare for parents during the summer school breaks.
Time off in the summer doesn’t necessarily have to be employees using up all their vacation and PTO buckets. Time away from work with flexible work options are a great perk for attraction and retention.
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