The weather outside might be gorgeous, but you couldn’t prove it by most office workers in the U.S., who toil away in canned air and flickering fluorescents with nary a beach jaunt on the horizon. No wonder 25 percent of us get less done in the summer than we do the rest of the year.
(Photo Credit: Paula Borowska via Unsplash)
In this infographic, Grasshopper.com explores the many reasons why we’re not at our most productive during the summer months. On top of not taking enough vacation — 60 percent of us log only a week or less of time off — we have a lot of other factors dragging down our performance:
1. Winter and summer are the toughest times in the office, in terms of temperature regulation. No one agrees on the right setting for the thermostat, and AC makes it easier to freeze workers, which kills productivity.
2. Summer Fridays, long lunches, and daydreaming all eat up time. Plus, when people do take their few days off, it’s hard to get things done without running into questions only the person on vacation can answer. If we were used to taking our holiday time, or had a month off in the summer like many countries in Europe, this would be less of an issue — or, at least, it would be less irritating and more expected.
3. We still feel like we should have the summer off. School children in the U.S. get three months off in the summer, but workers are lucky if they can get three days in a row. No wonder we don’t feel like getting stuff done.
(Infographic: Grasshopper.com)
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