Why We Love Summer Hours
Remember that sense of freedom and excitement on the last day of school before summer holidays? Weeks stretched out ahead of you. The air was hot with anticipation for all the late nights, bike rides, back-garden BBQs, and ice lollies you had to look forward to.
But as adults, summer rarely brings the same level of joy. Most of us get to enjoy summer for a few weeks perhaps – squeezing in a trip away or enjoying weekends with loved ones. But on the whole, summer comes and goes without much fanfare. This thinking led us to Summer Hours.
What exactly are Summer Hours, anyway?
For six weeks over summer our entire team have Fridays off to spend however they please. Catching up with friends, spending quality time with family, discovering something new, or soaking up the sun in the local park… Summer Hours gives everyone an extra day off to do just about anything.
Since first introducing Summer Hours in 2021, it’s fair to say that it has been a hit with the Fiasco team from the off. Here we unpack 5 reasons why we love Summer Hours.
A productivity pick-me-up
We’ll start with the one that lays out the best business case for Summer Hours: it boosts productivity. Summer is great for a whole host of reasons, but one of the things it’s not so great at is making us super productive… As it turns out, productivity goes down by 20% over summer months, with projects taking 13% longer. People also report being 45% more distracted.
As productivity dips and projects take that little bit longer to complete, Summer Hours is a little pick-me-up to help boost morale. Something to work toward and look forward to at the end of each week.
Restores work-life balance
We first introduced Summer Hours back in 2021, off the back of the pandemic and a rocky couple of years for everyone. Working from home and the disruptions to everyday life had thrown our work-life balance out of whack. Summer Hours helped to restore our energy.
Pandemic aside, we still feel the tangible positive impact that Summer Hours has on our wellbeing. With the busyness of the day-to-day, it can be hard to carve out time for ourselves. So having an additional day off a week provides the space to do something just for us – not as workers, but as people. Something fun.
Keeps burnout at bay
Summer Hours provide a welcome breather for busier periods. It offers our team the freedom to take part in activities and things that help us to unwind and reduce stress. Walk the dog. Ride a bike. Do something fun with your kids. Finally finish reading that book you started at Easter. Yes please.
The sunnier skies and longer days enable us to get outdoors, get our minds off work and replenish ourselves.
Demonstrates trust and respect
Offering reduced hours over summer indicates that we trust our team to do their jobs and enjoy a little fun in the sun, too.
We’ve spent years building a culture of openness, integrity and kindness. More recently we’ve built in greater flexibility to our working week, giving team members full authority over when, where and how they work. These things demonstrate trust, and in turn it empowers people to do their best work.
Releases the inner child
Having fun in summer shouldn’t just be for children. Summer Hours gives us that same nostalgic buzz of excitement synonymous with school holidays. It might not be a full six weeks off, but it’s the next best thing.
Time off to spend however you please grants the freedom to try something new: to discover, explore, start new hobbies and find new passions. This renewed sense of exploration and playfulness can be felt in the studio, too.
If you’re thinking about giving Summer Hours a go, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a tweet @FiascoDesign and let us know.
Words By Nathalie Crease
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