The Summer Slump Is Real, UK Less Productive During Summer Months
The Summer Slump is Real – Korn Ferry Survey Finds Almost Half of Employees Believe They are Less Productive at Work during the Summer Months
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today (5 Jul) released its figures on the UK’s productivity in Q1 of 2019, indicating that our labour productivity fell 0.2% compared to the same period last year.
With the sun showing its face more, kids finishing school, and long-planned vacations coming around, summer is full of distractions, and according to a new Korn Ferry survey, this significantly impacts people’s performance at work.
Korn Ferry has today released new research into workers’ productivity during Summer indicating that there’s no reason why Q2 should be any better: almost half (46%) of workers admit that their personal productivity slumps during the Summer months. A quarter admit to skipping work so that they can enjoy the sun, while a clear majority (78 percent) believe that their colleagues are less productive during this period.
Moreover, for a strong minority, the hot weather presents the perfect excuse to skip the office, with a quarter (25 percent) admitting that they have skipped work so that they could enjoy summer activities.
The research also found that the vast majority (71 percent) of organisations do not offer any form of amended work hours in the summer or team-building summer events outside the office (61 percent).
“In a competitive job market, it’s vital for organisations to understand how their employees actually work and what their needs are, and this extends to seasonal variations in productivity. Summer holds cultural importance as a moment of relaxation and holidays, and clearly for many people this phenomenon impacts workplace performance – yet not many organisations currently attempt to flex around the ‘summer slump.’” said Kay Cooper, Managing Director, RPO, EMEA, at Korn Ferry.
In another recent survey, Korn Ferry found that workers struggle to disconnect while on vacation, with nearly half (45 percent) of those surveyed saying they check in with the office multiple times a day while on holiday. A further 65 percent admit they’ve had to cut a vacation short due to work pressures.
Kay Cooper commented further: “The fact that so many struggle to fully ‘turn on’ when they’re at work during the summer months and to ‘turn off’ while they are on holiday indicates that many have difficulties finding the balance between work and leisure. Organisations need to help their employees negotiate the many demands of the office and to preserve their relaxation time outside of it. By better empathizing with employees, organisations can find ways to adapt to how they work and therefore create a more compelling offer to talent.”
About the survey
There were 1,060 responses to the online executive survey, which took place in May 2019. Please note that due to rounding responses may not equal 100 percent.
Survey Responses
Does your company offer amended work hours in the summer (eg. Working half-days on Fridays)?
Yes 29 percent
No 71 percent
Does your office offer team-building summer events outside the office
Yes 39 percent
No 61 percent
To what extent would you agree that your personal productivity at work slumps in the summer?
To a great extent 5 percent
To some extent 42 percent
To no extent – I’m as productive in the summer as I am in the winter 54 percent
To what extent would you agree that productivity in your work colleagues slumps during the summer?
To a great extent 5 percent
To some extent 73 percent
To no extent 22 percent
Have you ever played hooky from work because the summer weather was too good to pass up?
Yes 25 percent
No 75 percent
Is it harder to get projects done during the summer months?
Yes 41 percent
No 59 percent
Do you feel you are more productive when colleagues/bosses are on summer vacation?
Yes 46 percent
No 59 percent
Does your company have dress policies geared toward the summer months (e.g. no shorts or flip flop sandals)?
Yes 37 percent
No 63 percent
Do people in your company adhere to summer dress policies?
Yes 60 percent
No 40 percent
In general, is the environment in your company more laid back in the summer?
Yes 33 percent
No 72 percent
Responses