The sun is shining, the air is heating up, and it's harder to concentrate at work.
That's a familiar story for many of us when temperatures start to rise, and one that can its toll on workplace efficiency.
One study of 600 office workers found that productivity dropped by around 20% when the weather got hotter, with projects taking 13% longer to complete and people becoming 45% more distracted.
Hot days can also bring their share of other problems, weather people are working outdoors, or have health issues that can be made worse in the heat.
you can help everyone work smarter in the summer months with these tips:
1. Keep an eye on colleagues
Even if you feel fine, someone near you might not.
People who can struggle more in summer include asthma sufferers, because their breathing in hot air may lead to coughing and shortness of breath. Hot weather can also increase the amount of pollutants and mould in the air, which can trigger asthma symptoms.
People with allergies can also experience problems thanks to increased levels of summer air pollution, a greater risk of insect bites and more dust mites in circulation.
People can help each other in offices by keeping doors and windows closed and making sure the environment is as dust free as possible.
Air purifiers can significantly improve indoor quality by removing virtually all particle pollution, including dust mite allergens, mould spores, pollen grains and ultra-fine particle pollution from traffic.
2. Personal air flow management
Changes in temperature can make people feel uncomfortable and distract them from their work.
Individual, desk-side or desk-top fans can be a great alternative to cranking up the air conditioning because they give each person control of their own thermal comfort.
Those unaffected by the heat don't need to be reduced to a shivering wreck by icy blasts from the ceiling, while anyone feeling too warm can simply switch a fan on.
3. Safe outdoor working
The risk of overheating, dehydration or sunburn become more real for anyone working outdoors when summer comes around.
Outdoor workers should be given supplies of sun protection cream with a high SPF, plenty of cool water and be encouraged to take regular breaks out of the sun.
4. Water
It's never more important to stock up on bottles of water and make sure water coolers don't run low in the summer.
Experts recommend that we drink a little more than the recommended two litres of water if it's hot. Feeling thirsty is a sign we're already a little dehydrated, so it's best to start sipping before this happens.
If you're feeling a little parched, you may have lost around 1% of water in your body, and dehydration happens when 2% of water has been lost. Signs of dehydration include feeling tired or faint, muscle cramps, infrequent urinating and very dark urine.
5. Flex working hours
One of the issues some employees report in hot weather is lost working time when people unofficially leave early or take longer lunch breaks.
Making it easier for employees to work flexibly, even just over the summer, could help improve morale and engender loyalty, and help ensure people are working when you need them to. Ideas include 'summer months only' compressed hours, flexible working or an early leave on Fridays.
Companies such as Vodafone have found that, for employees, work-life balance is as important as basic salary, with flexible working having a bigger impact on job satisfaction that more traditional benefits such as shares, bonus schemes and pensions.
With Banner you can...
With Banner you can help your people work well in all weathers. For more details please contact our facilities supplies team on facilitiessupplies@banneruk.com
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