Summer is finally here. Long days, relief from the routine of school, relaxing vacations, exciting travel – so much fun to be had! But before you swing into summer, consider some workplace planning that will make the season a little more enjoyable – and more productive – for all, and not just for the lucky ones who are headed off on vacation.
Holidays: While we look forward to Memorial Day, Labor Day, and the Fourth of July, remember that these long weekends can cause scheduling stress, particularly if you need to maintain a working holiday production schedule. To minimize this stress:
- Have all employees list first, second and third choices for the holidays they want off and then schedule accordingly. Anticipate that the bulk of employees will want the same days off and plan in advance how you will decide who should be given first preference.
- Communicate your holiday pay incentive policy (if any). Some people will likely be happy to earn extra money by working the holidays. This volunteer coverage can help reduce the strain of vacation time requests.
- Remember that holidays falling in the middle of the work week will likely reduce your workforce before and/or after the holiday, as employees understandably look to maximize their vacation time. For example, in 2013 the Fourth of July falls on a Thursday; there will be a lot of employees wanting that Friday off to extend the holiday into a four-day weekend. Again, decide in advance how you intend to maintain productivity and how you will grant vacation preferences.
- Try to make the workplace more relaxed and enjoyable for those working on a holiday. Consider bringing in lunch or relaxing the dress code to reward those working. And if employees are required to be there, management should be there as well. Employee morale is damaged when people have to work and they notice management is not around.
- High school students on summer break can give you an additional resource for manpower when needed (usually at a lower wage), giving young people real-world experience while earning money. Just be sure that if you hire anyone under age 18 you are familiar with federal and state child labor laws, which set minimum ages and specific work time requirements.
Vacations: Hopefully you can allow all employees to take the time off they want during the summer. By starting the scheduling and planning early, you will be more successful in balancing production needs and personal leave requests.
- Plan ahead so you know what portion of the workforce can be off at the same time while maintaining productivity without straining resources.
- Set a time period to submit vacation requests instead of having a first-come, first-approved system. Find out what vacation requests are more flexible than others and work with employees to try to accommodate everyone’s wants and needs.
Flex-Time: Summer often creates situations that can influence or disrupt the normal workday schedule, including kids out of school, availability of vacation properties, vacation schedules for working spouses and recreational sports. Conversely, there may be people who may be happy to work while others play. The more you know about what your employees would like/need, the more productive and happy they will be while on the job.
- For parents with school-age children, encourage open communication about seasonal scheduling demands, flex schedules and other needs. Remember, child care can be a particular challenge and significant expense in the summer for working parents. Planning well in advance for those challenges will reduce stress all around.
- Consider compressed work weeks or other ways to maintain production schedules while allowing employees some extra time to relax and recharge.
- Let employees brainstorm how they would balance production and personal leave – their findings may lead you directly to the win-win you all want.
Unplanned Time Off: Unfortunately, summer can also bring some scheduling surprises – but you don’t have to be unprepared for them.
- Plan for extreme summer weather by having a current emergency plan in place. Warm temperatures bring hurricanes, tornados, flooding, extreme heat and other severe weather that can hit unexpectedly and catastrophically.
- Employees may call in sick to take advantage of the wonderful weather or family who are on vacation. This absence without notice impacts the company’s productivity beyond that one employee. To help reduce this impact, you may look at restructuring your paid time off policies to allow employees to use their days off for whatever they want instead of categorizing as sick, vacation, etc.
Dress Code: Business dress has trended toward more casual attire in recent years. In keeping with the culture of summertime, consider:
- Allowing people to wear more casual, more fun clothing for the entire summer, on certain days of the week or on certain occasions can be a real morale boost. Be mindful, however, that certain clothing and footwear can be a safety hazard.
- If business attire is required, consider having some special apparel printed so that employees can continue to promote the company while enjoying the celebration of summer.
While summer can bring challenges for employers, the relatively simple approaches described above can help ease the transition into the best season of the year and, at the same time, help keep morale and productivity at their highest. Have a great summer!
By Paige L. McAllister, SPHR
